Today's Lesson: The Art of Balance

Trash Collector

2011-12-31T14:16:00.000-05:00

Without going into too many specifics about my daughter, who is 9, I want to talk about the trash she couldn't deal with in her room. We cleaned out 5 kitchen-size bags of trash from her room. This included cheap broken toys (knick-knacks given in goodie bags at school holiday parties); wrappers upon wrappers; lollipop sticks; bits of paper; old school papers; old school folders and notebooks; plastic accessories for Littlest Pet Shop (we considered these trash); broken hair clips and headbands; a couple books with bindings broken so they fell apart; broken cheap tea set pieces, broken pencils and bits of crayons; broken costume jewelry; used up sticker books, coloring books, and drawing pads; tissues and napkins... That is all I can think of and really, isn't that enough? It seemed she couldn't get past all this trash. It was too overwhelming. Will thought maybe she had too many toys. I kept arguing that she only has three categories of toys in her room: Barbie, American Girl and Littlest Pet Shop; and they were organized in 4 clear plastic bins. No matter how specific we were with telling her to clean, she just couldn't do it on her own.

After 4 days of her "cleaning" her room, she really hadn't gotten anywhere, so Will and I went in there and dumped out all her desk drawers and toy bins to help her reorganize everything. That's when we realized there was trash in everything. We went through the little plastic crap that comes with every toy she receives and threw out some of it. I mean, it was just spread throughout the room, in every drawer, under her bed. There was no way she needed all of it. So, in that respect, Will got what he wanted in lessening the toys. We kept a few small accessories for Barbie and all her clothes and shoes for Barbie and the same for her American Girl doll.

How did the trash build up, though? Is she a hoarder? I don't think so, but I do think she has a difficult time separating what is trash and what is not. Part of this is the junk that kids are always accumulating. I'm talking about the crap made in China or India or Indonesia that serves no real purpose other than 5 minutes of entertainment before it becomes clutter. It's the stuff made from our water bottles. Did you know that all our water bottles are sold to China and then become the plastic toys our kids want? And we buy it! The culture of crap and clutter is hurting our kids' ability to place appropriate value on objects. Either kids are way too attached to all of it, or they don't realize what has real value (a $100 doll) and what doesn't ($5 small plastic toy).

At this point, our daughter's room is clean. It's been vacuumed and all the toys she really does play with are put in their correct bins. I blame myself mostly for the state of her room prior to cleaning it. In some ways I've been a lazy parent. I haven't taught her how to clear clutter from her backpack regularly and that clutter just spread throughout her room. Hence, I haven't taught her how to clear clutter regularly from her room. I told her I wouldn't be a lazy parent any longer and she would have to expect me to be on top of her about her room. Truthfully, she was relieved to hear that. As her father said, she'd created a prison of stuff and she needed to be freed.

Rest and Reading

2011-12-29T16:42:00.000-05:00

I became sick with a cold the night before Christmas Eve. Thank goodness I had done all my cooking and baking that day, because the next day not only did I feel awful, but I was coughing and sneezing and runny-nosed. It's terrible to cook in that condition because every time you have to stop and blow your nose you have to wash or disinfect your hands and my fingers are dry and chapped enough. G has a tradition of being sick on Christmas, though last year was the only year she wasn't. She started the virus, which resulted in a doctor's visit and a negative strep test, and gave it to me and Will. S has a strong immune system and never got sick, the lucky girl. I was optimistic that I would get through with just a minor sore throat, but I got/have a full-blown sinus-focused cold. Even if other members of my family have a cold with sore throat or cough, my colds settle in my sinuses. Someone told me it must be awful to be sick for Christmas break, but I completely disagree. I'm glad it's over break rather than during a time when I need to go to work. I don't take off for colds and I hate being stuffy at work. I don't get the luxury of sitting and blowing my nose all day. I end up having a sinus pressure headache because I end up sniffling more. Six days later I'm still taking Mucinex-D around the clock and feeling weak and blah. That may be a good sign because the day before G felt all better she had a fever and felt weak and achy. This may be the final hurrah for my body to kill this virus.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my break by resting, resting, resting. I watched three seasons of Nip/Tuck (fast-forwarding through parts I didn't care for such as gore or sappy montages). I've done a load of laundry each day and kept up on dishes. I took the girls to visit my mom and sister and play a board game. I typed some hand-written recipes to put in the new binder my mom gave me for Christmas. And it's been really nice to not feel stressed or wiped out at the end of the day, which has resulted in a happier home and more quality time with my husband. The kids seem to feel the same way. I'm also getting some reading done. My sister gave me Queen Bees and Wannabes. I think it'll help me with the coming teenage years with my daughters. It's fitting because I gave S the American Girl books The Care and Keeping of You and The Care and Keeping of Your Emotions. She has already read them both and told me that when I tried to explain puberty to her it sounded scary, but now she's looking forward to it. My daughter actually wants to develop breasts and get her period. When I was a kid I wanted nothing to do with any of it. Well, I guess I was a little excited to be developing, but I was scared they'd get too big. What a waste of worrying, ha! Those who know me get that one, right? As for my period, no thank you. Who wants to think about that when you're busy playing house, climbing trees, swimming in the summer, sledding in the winter. I'm glad S is feeling happy about it though. So now she's got books to help her feel normal and give her ways to deal when she doesn't and so do I.

December 17

2011-12-17T10:57:00.000-05:00

Once we get to the 15th of December Christmas starts becoming very real! Our neighborhood is lit with colorful lights, I play Christmas music on the way home from school, and it's coming down to the wire for ordering online gifts. While we still need a few gifts for family members and neighbors and friends, I've done pretty well at getting things ahead of time. I'm slightly antsy about my recent Amazon order even though the site makes it easy by offering free shipping and letting you know if it'll get to you by Christmas.... the 24th as the latest delivery date is cutting it close! Probably we'll get it much earlier as they give you a large window of possible delivery dates. The kids are going to be VERY spoiled this year, as in all years really! It pays to be the only two grandkids on both sides of the family with 2 sets of grandparents and many aunts and uncles, including the adopted kind.

This year we kept it pretty minimal in decorating the house. I've been very busy at work and haven't had great energy levels, so we only got out enough to make it festive. In our living room, which is the entrance to the house and where the girls use the computer for games and movies, we put lights around the entrance to the dining room and around the banister. We decorated the top of the piano with a mini-tree; our angel tree-topper sits next to it; and beside that there is the Little People Nativity. Our four stockings hang from the top of the bookshelf and our antique elves sit up top. In the basement, where Will and I watch TV we put a table-top tree. I guess it's about 4 foot. We only got out the girl's ornaments which are plenty to decorate the small tree. A colorful star and color lights in addition to the prelit white lights of the tree make it very cheerful. I love sitting by the glow of a Christmas tree in the evening.

Santa will be visiting us at my parent's house this year. Last year S was in the Christmas pageant at our parish, but only 2nd graders are involved, so we'll be back there next year for G. Both sides of the family came to Christmas eve mass last year and had dinner at our house. This year, we'll be going to my parents, attending mass at their church, and staying the night. After the kids go to bed the adults exchange gifts. This is a tradition we started when I was a kid. After friends had left, my sister and brother and I would exchange our gifts for one another. After we had S, this tradition grew and the exchange extended to our boyfriends, now our spouses, and now my brother's girlfriend, who is the best gift-giver! With living in NC for a few years, we took turn traveling for Christmas, but when we came up to MD, we continued the Christmas eve gift exchange. Then Will's parents get us for Christmas day and dinner. It's a whirlwind of presents for everyone. The kids get Santa gifts in the morning, then gifts from grandparents and aunts and uncles, which sometimes starts Christmas eve since Christmas day will be filled with so many already. This year Santa will be leaving a couple gifts under our tree at home, too. One, because it's too large to travel, and the other to be fair. The magic is still going for G and S is dealing with knowing the truth and still keeping up the joy and magic of the holiday. She's been good about keeping the secret, but she'd like to find a classmate in the same boat as her. The problem is even if a friend does know what she knows, they've also been told never to tell any other kids, so they all just lie to each other telling each other they believe in Santa. It's pretty hilarious.

I doubt I'll blog again before Christmas, so Happy Holidays!

Playing Favorites

2011-11-05T12:24:00.001-04:00

Ever since I heard an NPR interview with Dr. Libby I've wanted to read her book titled The Favorite Child. The part of the interview that stuck with me is when she explained why a child is a favorite and how the favorite child can change in a family. She said that a favorite child is a child that makes the parent feel good. When a child's behavior changes, so can the feeling of favoritism. I certainly can't deny that when I'm going through a difficult time with one of my children I feel more favoritism toward the one who is not giving me a difficult time. Obviously, children (and people, for that matter) change all the time. One month G is super helpful with cleaning and is great at bedtime and doing her homework and the next month she's throwing fits about homework, crying that she needs help, refuses to clean her room, and gets out of bed night after night after being tucked in. Guess what phase we're in right now. One month S has a good attitude and the next she's spitting daggers and fire out her mouth at me--not a "feel good" phase. For a while the baby (toddler/preschool years) was the one who made me feel good because she was so snugly and sweet and cute. But on the other hand, she woke me up in the middle of the night with a wet bed or a nightmare 2-3 nights a week. So, really, my feel good feelings changed, and still change, depending on the time of day or night I'm interacting with my kids. Do you know how difficult it is to hug someone with whom you're angry and frustrated? It never fails, as soon as I show my true feelings and the kids can see I'm upset, they grab me for a hug. They try to hug the anger out of me! At first it just makes me angrier, but almost as quickly I laugh inside at their innocence in their attempt to disarm me. I'm able to speak to them reasonably and more calmly, but I don't show them how mushy they've made me inside. Nothing makes my heart swell with pride than when my kids are getting along with each other and interacting in a friendly, loving manner. At that moment, they're equally my favorites.

Confessions of a Guitly Mother

2011-10-15T16:01:00.001-04:00

Here it is: I don't like to cook/bake with my children, most of the time. Now in the summer I'm with them a whole lot more and our pace is much more relaxed, so I do include them in baking somewhat regularly. Well, by them I mean G. For whatever reason we get along easily in the kitchen. She and I are more similar, especially in our... "neatness" abilities. S's style is a more hands-on-get-your-hands-dirty style and it just doesn't jive with me. It's more than the mess that cooking with kids makes. I prefer to do it alone to BE alone. My alone time is limited and even though my family is around me, cooking/baking is something I enjoy doing by myself. The reason I feel guilty about it is I know they are interested and I do like to include them in the experience by calling them into the kitchen throughout the process to see the vegetables before, during and after cooking. I don't want the food on their plates to be a mystery to them. I want them to appreciate the work that goes into preparing a delicious meal. My girls actually play computer games where they follow recipes and bake and cook things. Shouldn't I be letting them do the real thing?

Oh, I have a blog

2011-09-09T20:29:00.000-04:00

Yeah, blogging is an afterthought. What can I say, two weeks back at school and I'm getting up early, going to bed early... my brain needs lots of extra rest. Something new I've experienced this year is that learning new names has affected my recalling names of students I had last year in a few situations. However, the brain fatigue isn't as bad this fall as it was last fall. I felt so brain dead at the end of each day last year during the first weeks of school because I was planning so much and learning so much. This year I'm reusing most lesson plans. I only have one class that I'm making up as I go. Shhhh... don't tell them! Truthfully, I have lots of ideas and plans for them, it's just that it's the first year I'm teaching the class with all my own lesson plans and not the previous teacher's schedule. While I'm reusing plans in other classes, I'm finding I'm better at teaching them because I've learned where students get confused from past classes, so I can be more concise and more clear in my delivery of instruction.

Cheers to all the teachers out there back at it this school year. I'm extremely grateful to be working and I love teaching. I'm happy to be at the school I am, and have the students I have. My own kids are also glad to be back at school, though getting up early isn't their cup o' tea either!

You know what I mean

2011-08-27T19:30:00.000-04:00

Hurricane Irene has been raining down on us since late this morning. We had plenty of time to let the kids run around outside and clear off the front porch before the weather turned nasty. We've been just hanging out, watching movie, baking chocolate cookies and pizza and having a grand 'ole time because friends from the coast up north evacuated to our place. We may lose power, but it shouldn't be for an obscene amount of time as it will be in other places and we don't have a big risk of flooding. We have a sump pump in the basement, so we're all good. Except for the fact that Come on, Irene is stuck in my head! Good thing it's a pretty good song.

Baker

2011-08-20T21:25:00.000-04:00

I used Arrowhead Mill's Gluten Free All-purpose Baking Mix today to make Basic Bread, Blueberry muffins and Raspberry/Blueberry Pancakes. The bread recipe came from the back of the box. I used Egg-replacer and it was a very dense small loaf of bread made in a loaf pan. It was very crumbly, so I did as the box suggested and sliced it as soon as it cooled and froze the slices to put in the toaster later. I kept some fresh to have with dinner this evening which was just a thrown-together soup of carrots, potatoes, onion and rice noodles. G actually liked the homemade bread. The blueberry muffins turned out too salty. The mix already has sea salt in it, but I still added the 1/8 tsp of salt called for in the recipe from babycakes. I won't do that, again. The muffins were also quite crumbly. I was glad I used liners in the pan. The pancakes were from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan cook book and incorporate some corn flour. I only had one pancake because it broke when I put it on the cooling rack and it was DELICIOUS with maple syrup. I froze the rest to heat up in the oven or toaster. I'm going to make waffles to freeze as well. I also have Bob's Redmill baking flour to try and then I have Amaranth and Garbanzo bean flour to mix 60/30 to use for baking. I love this experimenting. It reminds me of when I first started baking vegan... 5 years ago!

So far, so good

2011-08-19T12:47:00.000-04:00

We did a trip to Whole Foods and got gluten free baking mixes, garbanzo bean flour, amaranth flour, quinoa pasta, rice noodles, bread and ingredients to make my own granola bars at home. The kids are aware that I'm saying "No" to dyes and not eating gluten. It's not that big of a change for them, yet. But we're home and they can have fresh fruits and vegetables and are satisfied with the snacks I've been giving them. G does not like the gluten free bread, but S does. It's very thick, almost like pound cake. I also like it, but I want to get into the habit of making our own gluten-free bread in the near future. I'm going to have to do more baking at home to make snacks that are easy to pack for school. The girls get a morning snack at school and they'll need snack for extended care after school. I also like to freeze waffles and pancakes that can be put into the toaster for breakfast. It's more work for me, but in the end it'll be enjoyable for us to have the tasty food and it'll be more cost-efficient.

Two blogs

2011-08-14T16:03:00.000-04:00

From now on I will be posting recipes (aka Food Blogs) and discussing my own diet adventures at Drink Your Salad. I will continue blogging here about family, family food, work and other miscellaneous stuff. If you're reading one blog and are confused, maybe I mentioned something in the other blog that will clarify. I know what I'm talking about, but if you don't, just ask me in a comment! Thanks for reading!!!

Here we go again...

2011-08-14T15:55:00.000-04:00

I'm making more changes to my family's diet. Now, nothing has been diagnosed. I'm due for a blood test this week and then it'll be 2 more weeks before I get the results and the kids are seeing our new Integrative Medicine doctor soon. I've been doing a lot of research into a gluten-free diet. I've known for a while that it was a good possibility I would make this switch for my youngest daughter, but more recently I've realized it's something my other daughter AND I need as well. I don't know why my family has these food intolerances and we're not 100% sure what they all are.

For instance, S had an allergic reaction while we were on vacation after eating sausage, eggs and pancakes. She's never had a problem with eggs or the ingredients in the pancakes, so we immediately thought it was the spices in the sausage. She came to us and said she didn't feel well in her stomach and her chest hurt. I noticed right away her cheeks were swollen, red and puffy, as were her lips. After a few minutes, her lips turned purple. There was a time a while ago when she was 5 that this happened and we thought she had croup and took her to the ER. It was too long ago to remember what she'd eaten and we didn't think it was an allergic reaction at the time, but maybe reflux. She seemed to be having reflux at the same time as this allergic reaction, so we gave her a Benadryl and a Pepcid. After 15 minutes her breathing was less labored and her swelling had gone down. She still felt shaky and nauseous for about a half hour and then threw up. After that she felt fully recovered. Let me tell you, that was scary. She's had this type of reaction (minus the severity of the throat closing) to strawberries, cinnamon and nutmeg, and crabs. We don't know if it was the crabs, but she's been fine with shrimp since then--even with Old Bay seasoning on them, which we thought might have been the cause of the reaction. The crab reaction was the longest lasting because she had swollen, puffy cheeks for 4 days (even with Benadryl), but didn't have any problems with her throat. This last reaction really scared us and Will mentioned we should have epipens in case this happens more severely. I'll be discussing all of this with our new doctor, of course.

G is obviously sensitive to artificial dyes, namely Yellow #5. All through kindergarten she had trouble not talking at times and would have to have time outs at least once a week because of it. She certainly wasn't the most ADHD kid in her class, but she definitely has the tendency to be that way. Until now, I just chalked up her climbing, moving, running, going all around the house, antsyness at the table, incessant talking, tantrums, whinyness, impulsiveness and general lack of control to her young age. Many, if not all, of those behaviors are typical for a 1-4 year old and ADHD isn't really diagnosed at such a young age. Truthfully, I do not consider her as having attention deficit. She can play with other kids in a very focused imagination-rich game for hours. She can play on the computer for hours, too. Usually what stops her is her hunger. She does have difficulty sitting still when coloring, eating, watching TV, doing homework, etc. She's hyperactive and impulsive, which in itself is a type of disorder. If she has cereal or candy with dye in it, within the hour she will talk non-stop. She makes her voice funny and she doesn't even care what she's talking or who is listening or responding. She just keeps talking. Then it ends in whining, crying and often a tantrum which involves hanging on me, hitting her sister and/or needing to be isolated from people. She seems to crave bread items and sugar, especially chocolate sweets. My goal with her is to have a G.F. vegan, sugar-free diet. And I'm going to do it for me AND S as well. Now that's going to be difficult in many situations.

No more fast food (we only visit Chik-fil-a or Arby's once a month, usually when traveling or extremely busy). No more sugary, store-bought cereals and granola bars. Fortunately G LOVES Larabars and I've found very easy granola bar recipes that S is sure to like. Anything with coconut and chocolate in it is bound to be a success in this house. Probably Will is going to chow down on them, too. Hummus and veggies are one of our favorites. We all like beans and veggies cooked in chili and soup or with G.F. grains or rice noodles. I can bake with maple syrup and agave. The biggest challenge will be in reading more labels and finding ways to have GF products without spending more on food.

MY MOTHERING/SELF-CARE GOALS THIS SCHOOL YEAR:

Make home-made cereals, snacks and dinners that can be eaten as left overs.

Plan ahead, have menus for each week and make bulk recipes on the weekend

to freeze or have through the week.

BTW, there are an abundance of bloggers out there with great GF recipes and even some who are GF and vegan! I'll be adding their sites to my blogroll.

Your brother might have broken his neck

2011-08-10T09:24:00.000-04:00

I was happy I'd come back from the beach a little earlier than my parents so I could get my shower and clear out of our shared bathroom. I was just finishing up my hair when my mom knocked on the door and asked if she could get in there in a minute. Sure, I replied. Then she said she had to get over to my brother at the hospital. My stomach dropped, What happened?! She responded very calmly, Oh, he might have broken his neck.

What the?!

Turns out that right after my sister and I left the beach, our brother had a bad wipe out boogie boarding and the lifeguards were alerted. He was taken by ambulance on a board to the hospital which was just behind where we were at the beach. Ahead of him at the emergency room were three other people in swimsuits with neckbraces, apparently the injury of the day. Also, there were some dehydrated kids. After x-rays, my bro was diagnosed as having strained his neck muscles. Thank God. Another soul was not as fortunate and had to be transfered to a mainland hospital for his broken neck. What a vacation.

This Is Such A Wonderful Day!

2011-08-08T17:29:00.000-04:00

NPR exposed me and my husband to My Morning Jacket and we bought their album, Circuital recently. We haven't been able to stop listening to the album! I play it whenever I drive and it's totally appropriate to play around children. This song is so beautiful. It comes to mind thinking about G at the pool yesterday. We arrived at our beach house Saturday and went to the beach Sunday. G was not happy at the beach after she got covered in sand. We rinsed her off in the outdoor shower at the house and went to our development's pool. She was more than thrilled. She put her hands together in a prayer formation and pointed them towards the water while standing on the stairs and jumped up and down exclaiming, "This is such a wonderful day! This is such a wonderful vacation!" to no one in particular. Of course a couple hours later she was throwing a fit in the shower about washing her hair. Still, I will hold onto the memory of the glee at the pool and try to suppress the screaming banshee she so often becomes.

Have your cake and blog, too

2011-07-30T21:40:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting here to give my youngest daughter the comfort that I am near. I should have known better than to put on the movie I did tonight. G has been having end-of-life issues and is super interested, yet scared by the concept of spirits, or ghosts. Same here! This evening's kid movie included a pirate ghost. So now that G is trying to go to sleep she sees "pictures of the ghost" in her mind. Same thing happens to me with scary movies, which is precisely why I don't watch them...anymore. Anyway, I'm sitting here eating a slice of pound cake with chocolate icing. It's not vegan friendly and it's not homemade. It is, however, very tasty.

Cleaning House

2011-07-24T15:43:00.000-04:00

We're already feeling the closeness of the coming school year. Our vacation is the second week of August, so we want to be in the mindset of being ready for school when we return. Something we've been needing to do this summer is go through the kids' toys. They've already cleaned their rooms and we've gone through the toys in the basement to decide what to keep and what to donate. We have two kitchen sized trash bags to donate. It's not that much, but enough to make a difference in the clutter. I always have the kids help with choosing things to donate, but occasionally Will and I just grab some things we know they won't miss and throw them in the bag. It's just one or two things. The girls have been donating toys forever, so they're very cooperative. Sometimes they surprise me with how willing they are to put something in the donate bag. If tears become a factor I don't push it and let them keep the item. I don't want to get rid of their favorite toys. I want them to have the things they like to play with, I just don't want things around getting broken and abused. I'd much rather something go to Goodwill intact so another kid can take it home than have to throw away broken toys. Going through toys, putting labels on bins or bags with the kids makes me feel really good about teaching them organizational skills. They are growing up in a fairly neat and organized house, so I think we're setting a good example. S tells me she loves having a clean room. Her favorite part, the only part she likes, really, is the "decorating" part when she's finished putting things away and she can arrange her desk, dresser and display shelves. She also likes hanging things on her walls like crafts she's done or magazine pictures of American Girl stuff she wants. I told her I'd like her room if I were an 8 year old girl. She does a nice job making it pretty, but not without voicing how much she hates cleaning!

G is very unpredictable when it comes to cleaning. She likes to organize and seems to have a natural ability to do so. She started putting away toys at a very young age without my asking. It's not uncommon for the second child to do things like that because they learn from watching the older child, but she seemed to LIKE putting things away. Maybe she's learned to throw fits from her older sister, because sometimes when she has to clean her room she throws one. Other times she just gets it done without an argument. She also likes having a clean room and making her bed. Her downfall is "UNDER THE BED" dun dun dun! It gets to be a MESS under there of dirty clothes, books, hair ties, and trash. How do children have so much paper trash in their rooms? Soon, we'll be lofting G's bed. She has a very tiny room. Very tiny. Lofting the bed will be a huge help in giving her space. She'll get a desk under her bed. I think she'll love having the desk to use to draw and write in her room. And she won't have anywhere to push all that clutter when she doesn't feel like picking it up.

The work done this weekend will go a long way to making our home a more pleasant space.

The battle

2011-07-23T13:50:00.000-04:00

The scene: A seemingly peaceful three bedroom row house.
The conflict: Parents want rooms clean; Children don't.
The threat: Parents will take away toys.
The standoff: Youngest child refuses to clean, makes room even more messy (just in case parents thought that wasn't possible) and throws fits about everything. Child constantly whines about being hungry though she has been adequately fed and watered.
The Compromise: Mother sits on bed and directs cleaning.

Any of this familiar?

30

2011-07-21T10:48:00.001-04:00

I went to bed age 29 yesterday and woke up age 30. I was born at 2:54 am, so my birthday started early. We surprised my daughter, G, who got up before all of us and was at the computer. She didn't know it was her birthday! hehe Her Dad and I gave her our two presents this morning: a pink Disney princess basket and bell for her new/used red boy bike and a purple salon chair for her American Girl dolls. Six years ago on my 24th birthday I gave birth to my premature little baby and now she's a new first grader who is too rambuctious for her own good!
G wanted to make pancakes for breakfast, so we did. Over breakfast, my girls were both saying they were glad to have their birthdays when they do. G asked S why she liked having her birthday in December because you can't go outside. Well, guess what? It's too hot to go outside today! No one cares, they're too busy playing and watching Disney episodes on Netflix.
Three cheers for 30!

Food Blog: Tomato Sauce Makes It All Good

2011-07-19T15:09:00.000-04:00

I learned this tip from one of Natalia Rose's books. It's so true! Yesterday I made a "lasagna" type dish, otherwise called a casserole. I told my kids to think of it as noodle-less lasagna. They ate it pretty well, with the help of buttered toast and the promise of Lindeman's Italian Ice afterwards.

Lauren's Cabbage Lasagna:
Precooked Chopped Head of Cabbage
2 Yellow squash
Handful of Baby Spinach
1/4 cup diced Onion
1 Jar of Tomato Sauce

Basically just layer to your heart's desire in a Pyrex baking dish. I've done this with precooked Polenta as well in place of noodles. This time I put a layer of yellow squash, onion, spinach, sauce. Then cabbage followed by more onion and sauce and then another layer of squash topped off with sauce. I used a little pepper and dry basil leaves to enhance the flavors. I quite enjoyed it!

Drink Your Salad

2011-07-17T18:51:00.001-04:00

I started a new blog to focus on EATING (and drinking). Everyone needs to eat, so go check it out.

Food Blog Summer 2011: Mexican Lasagna

2011-07-10T13:24:00.000-04:00

Mexican Lasagna is also called Tortilla Pie. See that goo there? It's vegan "cheese" sauce. I got the idea from OhSheGlows.com. It's VERY simple: a tablespoon or two of hummus, equal amount nutritional yeast and then water it down to be the consistency you like. It works well in this recipe because it helps hold the lasagna together. You can also see the shredded Daiya Pepper jack Style.

This is an inside layer.

Do you ever work at a crowded counter like this? Sometimes I just have to get dinner in the oven and then I can do dishes while it cooks. Plus, I have very limited counter space in this kitchen. But, even when I had a lot more counter space in my last house, I tended to clutter it up quickly. I prefer having a smaller space because it pushes us to keep it cleaner.

So here's what goes into this recipe:

Three tortillas with the following between each layer: Refried beans, black beans and kidney beans (canned and drained or precooked), Salsa (I used both Garden and Black bean and Corn), Rotel canned Tomatoes and Green chilies, Cheese Sauce, Shredded Daiya.
On the very top I only put a light layer of refried beans and the last of the Rotel tomatoes with the liquid from the can to keep the tortillas soft while baking. I also put a little shredded cheese.

This recipe keeps the tortilla nice and soft and it's very much like a traditional lasagna because it's so gooey. It had a nice spice to it as well without adding any extra seasonings... just what was already in the salsa and tomatoes. That makes it so easy!

Tip: If you don't have tortillas that fit perfectly into a pie dish like I did,

you can use multiple smaller tortillas for each layer.

I've done that before and I've used corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas.

Both work great.

Oh where, oh where has my summer gone?

2011-07-07T15:51:00.000-04:00

For starters, I took a class on teaching smart kids with learning difficulties. It's for re-certification and was really informative and enjoyable--one of my favorite combinations of adjectives! Now, I have "homework" to do to complete the course. Also, I've been on my kids about getting their summer homework completed this month. What else have I been doing... I've been keeping up with my own lesson planning for my new courses I'm teaching this coming school year; and I've been going through some "new" series or just new seasons of my favorite shows through Netflix; and reading for enjoyment; and going to the gym; and playing with my kids--teaching them to ride bikes (G can ride a two wheeler!) and juicing and cooking and baking and.... yeah, keeping busy. Next up on my busy summer-to-do-list: painting some decorative wall treatments with some students at my school! I was out there today and my classroom is emptied of everything to re-wax the floors. So then there's all that work of putting it back together before the start of the school year. Still, I'm loving the weather and the sun and extra daylight hours and spending more time with my family. Really, that's what summer is for.

OH MY, BURGERS!

2011-06-23T21:50:00.000-04:00

Oh these burgers I had were so good! The recipe is from Crazy Sexy Diet (CSD) by Kris Carr and they have black beans and rice and sweet potatoes and were just delicious on sprouted grain bread. So, so good.

Also! I am on day two of the CSD 21 Day Cleanse. I'm not being super strict with myself. I'm avoiding gluten as much as possible and, of course, staying vegetarian. But, I'm allowing myself some homemade vegan desserts. I'm keeping a written food journal and just being aware of portions and snacking. I'm using the Cleanse outline in CSD to stay motivated and improve my wellness routine in general, which is really what the book is about. I'm also using tips from Natalia Rose's Detox for Women. Of course I want to feel great, but I am focused on losing weight. The donuts, the bagels, the late night snacking through the winter all lead to my not fitting into my spring clothes! Yeah, my boobs are a little bigger, but I want to fit into my shorts, dammit! I'll sacrifice a little boob for that.

Second Day of Summer Food Blog

2011-06-22T16:40:00.000-04:00

Even though yesterday was officially the first day of summer, I began my summer break over a week ago, so my summer food blogs have begun. I don't have pictures today, but I have some great links. The first thing I made today was Vegan Garlic Scape Pesto! I made three small batches (I have a small food processor) and divided it into two tablespoon size servings. I put each serving into a small baggie and then put all the baggies into a gallon size freezer bag and then into the freezer. I made a bag each for my mom and my sister with four servings each. One serving is enough for at least 1/2 lb of pasta or more.

I had gotten scapes from my organic CSA and didn't know what they were called. After searching for garlic rope, garlic string, garlic onion, green garlic, I finally found GARLIC SCAPES and how to use them. I came across this post with a recipe that uses walnuts for pesto. I knew I wanted to veganize it, but searched the internet sure someone else had done it already. This great site had a wonderful recipe. Only, I didn't have any sesame seeds, so I couldn't follow it exactly. I went with my first instinct and just threw in some nutritional yeast with walnuts and 2-3 scapes per batch. I didn't measure anything, just took note of the size of my food processor. The first batch was super garlicky, so I toned it down for the next batches. Also, I used Angela Liddon's suggestion and threw in some fresh spinach (also from my CSA). SO YUMMY! And that's EASY VEGAN GARLIC SCAPE PESTO!

Next, I still had some scapes left, so I made an easy vegan bean dip. You can find recipe's galore for bean dips and I've followed some precisely, but find it easier to just throw together what I've got. I used two small scapes (BTW--I found it easy to use kitchen shears to snip the scapes into quarter-inch pieces) and a can of drained and rinsed garbonzo beans. I also added salt and pepper, fresh spinach and a little oil. Not too strong, but the garlic taste is robust! Just throw any kind of white bean, like great northern beans or chick peas, into the food processor with herbs and oil and it's EASY WHITE BEAN DIP! You don't even have to cut up garlic or have scapes on hand. Just sprinkle in some garlic powder for a super quick and easy option.

So, then I took a little rest because Will had brought me Q'doba. It was my first time having a vegetarian bowl from them, and it was good. However, I think I still rate Chipotle's veggie bowl higher. The guacamole at Chipotle is the best.

After the rest, I was ready to whip up something else. But what? S had told me earlier she had a chocolate craving, so I looked in my box and found a vegan chocolate cake recipe my mom had copied from somewhere and given me. You just whisk together 1.5 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 3T cocoa powder, 1tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt. Then you continue to whisk in 1/4 cup +2T oil, 1tsp vanilla, 1T vinegar and 1 cup of water. Could not be any easier. I didn't have vanilla extract, so I substituted almond extract. Then you pour the batter into a greased 8x8 inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. So then I had the cake cooling and wanted to make a great icing for it. I started with 1/4 cup of vegan butter, 1.5 cups confectioners sugar, 1/4 cup water and blended. It was very thin. So then I got the great idea to add sunflower seed butter. I just stirred in about 1/4 cup and it was the perfect consistency for icing. At this time I haven't iced the cake yet because it's cooling.

I'm going to throw together some pesto pasta for dinner for the girls and I'll probably have some after my workout this evening.

Food Blog Summer 2011: Purple Blondies

2011-06-13T15:40:00.000-04:00

Today is our first official day of summer vacation and I've started a new reward system with my kids. They have to keep their rooms clean and do a good job helping around the house in general Monday-Friday and then on Friday they get to choose a prize to be given sometime the following week. They get the weekend off from their rooms--a total change from the school year routine where they had to clean rooms and put away clean clothes every weekend. We started the system last week, since it was an easy last week of school. S chose a simple trip to Rita's Italian Ice, which we'll do later today, and G chose to bake something with me.

We joined a CSA this year and got our first share last Tuesday, so I had two baked PURPLE sweet potatoes in the fridge and I wanted to do some kind of dessert with them. For whatever reason, G, who normally likes orange sweet potatoes, was adverse to eating the purple variety. She even struggled to try one bite! But, when I told her about my plan for dessert she was just so excited to bake that she didn't argue. I showed her the picture at this blog and explained the difference between a brownie and a blondie and she was game. I'll have to get the book from the library this summer and write down some more recipes to try.

Here are pictures from our adventures in baking Purple Blondies:

The picture of the pan is actually before baking. The batter is pretty thick, as you can see in the mixing bowl, and and it has be be spread out in the pay. After baking it doesn't look much different, just a little dryer. I didn't have the brown sugar the recipe calls for, so I just substituted white sugar. Also, I cut down on the spices to just use 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice. My oldest is sensitive to spices and sometimes gets a rash from cinnamon and nutmeg. But a sweet potato dessert without spice is just wrong!

After having these for snack the kids and I give them 5 stars. The best part is they are my favorite color! (That and they're vegan.)

What I love

2011-04-03T19:14:00.002-04:00

Students ask me if I like being an art teacher. I always reply, Yes, I do! It's the truth. I love working in an art room. While there are challenges and annoying, um, behavior issues to deal with, on the whole, teaching art is very fulfilling. I like working with high school students because they can problem solve and come up with ideas that I'd not thought of prior. I like being surrounded by partially finished works of art, wondering what is coming next. I don't like to ask too many questions unless students are having a problem or seem like they've hit a wall in creativity. I just observe the process. I observe art all the time. For instance, Flying Dog beer has some extremely creative labels on their various types of beer. Check them out. The beer is good, too. One of the many reasons I wanted to work in education is that it would keep ME educating myself. I continuously research for new ideas for projects and factual information for my art history class. I know a lot, but the knowledge can keep growing. I've realized that I'm missing doing the art myself. The only art I do these days is if I need to have a physical example for my students. Often I put together power points of pictures I find online, but sometimes only a real, in-the-works, example is best. This past week I made a high relief collage as well as a stained glass paper cut out. I've put a little tissue paper in the stained glass, working along side the students, and it's nice when I get to do that, but it's rare. I really love the tissue paper stained glass project. The students have done beautiful work and have taken pride in their work. I'll be visiting the National Gallery with students soon and I plan on bringing a small sketch book to copy what I see. What will I draw? Paintings? Sculptures? People visiting the gallery? Should I bring colored pencils or just graphite? Charcoal? So many possibilities. I'm looking forward to it greatly. I need to push myself to keep working on my craft. Next year I hope to teach a drawing class. I have some very talented students who want to draw using pencil, so that should be a very fun class. I'll need some great projects that'll really push them to do great work. I would like to take a small group of students to a museum next year, so that might be the class to go. It's time I start drawing again. Do what I love and what I'm best at doing. I'll not be going to school any time soon, so I might as well give myself assignments.

Portman isn't really a single mom

2011-04-01T18:21:00.003-04:00

Huckabee commented on Natalie Portman's "single-mom pregnancy" and said his purpose was to bring focus to the fact that most single moms are struggling. The problem with the person he chose to comment about is she's not a single mom. She's pregnant and not married, but she's engaged. Even if she weren't engaged, but just "with" the baby's father she still wouldn't be a single mom. His focus on marriage is ridiculous and feminists are rightly upset about his insinuation that women cannot support a family alone. Granted, he is right in pointing out that many single-parent families are suffering and need help, but two-parent households are suffering, too. Also, why focus on the single mothers? The question Huckabee is not asking is where are the fathers? Conservatives put the blame on women, but men are not exempt from blame. Judgement of other's life choices really bothers me. Marriage is not the only situation in which children can be healthfully raised and an unhealthy marrige is never better for kids than no marriage. Let's get real here. I'm all for marriage, but it's not the end-all-be-all conservatives make it out to be.

Tie the Knot Already

2011-02-28T20:34:00.002-05:00

In speaking with another mom at soccer today about being "ahead" of friends in terms of marriage and kids and then seeing on Facebook that a cousin of mine who is 21 is engaged, marrying young has been on my mind. Mark Regnerus wrote this article in 2009 in defense of marrying young. Mostly, I like where he's coming from.
"Marriages that begin at age 20, 21 or 22 are not nearly so likely to end in divorce as many presume." Right, go on... "The age at which a person marries never actually causes a divorce. Rather, a young age at marriage can be an indicator of an underlying immaturity and impatience with marital challenges -- the kind that many of us eventually figure out how to avoid or to solve without parting." Maybe. But, more likely a young marriage can be an indicator of an underlying MATurity and the ability to know what one wants and needs. I love this next part.
"Marriage actually works best as a formative institution, not an institution you enter once you think you're fully formed. We learn marriage, just as we learn language, and to the teachable, some lessons just come easier earlier in life. "Cursed be the social wants that sin against the strength of youth," added Tennyson to his lines about springtime and love." You know the saying about the old dog and tricks. This is exactly the point... we learn better in youth. When I was engaged a friend told me her fear was that we'd grow apart since we were still forming ourselves. My reaction was that was the most ridiculous idea, but my response was simply that we'd grow together because we'd be together. Okay, here's where Regnerus veers off.
"There is wisdom in having an age gap between spouses. For women, age is (unfortunately) a debit, decreasing fertility. For men, age can be a credit, increasing their access to resources and improving their maturity, thus making them more attractive to women. We may all dislike this scenario, but we can't will it away." Regnerus says the average age a man marries is 28. He has no problem with that. It's women who wait until 28 he has a beef with. He'd rather see a twenty year old woman get married to that 28 year old man? He doesn't like that the average age difference between spouses is now less than 2 years. Well, guess what Regnerus. It's not women who have the problem in this scenario, it's the men who want to sow their oats. Same as it's always been. Why should a young woman have to marry someone who has been with way more people than she? That's nowhere near fair. Not that I want everyone to sleep around willy nilly before tying the not. No, I think partners should have many similarities and sex lives prior to marriage should be one of them. A 20 year old woman who has had maybe a couple or more partners is not a great match for a 28 year old man who has had a dozen or more.
But then Regnerus redeems himself.
"Say what you will about the benefits of cohabitation, it's a categorically less stable arrangement, far more prone to division than marriage." It's true. It's easier to leave when you have no further paper work to worry about. But also, the planning, preparation and commitment of having a wedding strengthens the bond between two people and makes for a more safe and secure partnership.
In the end Regnerus tells about a 23 year old woman who decided to get married though her friends, who became bridesmaids, initially balked. Those are the state of things. Getting married young is socially rebellious and I can't deny that I liked that aspect of it when I married at age 20. I was ready to "prove them all wrong!" Now, though, I think the stronger reason I wanted to get married was to be happy. I loved Will and I wanted to be with him. I wanted to see who we would turn out to be together. It's not been easy and it's not been a smooth ride. What would be the fun if it were? It has been life changing and I wouldn't want to change anything.

Time flies

2011-02-26T18:15:00.004-05:00

Apparently the earth is spinning faster or will spin faster sooner than later. Will we feel this quickening of time? Time is such an interesting concept. It's a difficult, intangible thing for young children to understand. G is always trying to figure out if something is a long time or not a long time and what amount of time is longer than another amount of time. Car rides seem to be a good starting point for comparison and time spent in the car feels longer than time spent elsewhere, such as playing on the computer. We all experience time going by faster when we're busy or absorbed in doing something. I once read an article that talked about slowing down time by changing activities and habits drastically whenever life becomes routine. I've always loved routine. At the same time, though, I do like doing new things. Each year with growing children gives rise to new routines. But maybe our changes aren't enough to slow time. The time between birthdays seems much shorter now for me. I have been looking forward to my next birthday for years because I always thought that age would make me grown--REALLY grown, but now that it is less than six months away I am not thrilled to be leaving my.... twenties! That's right, I'm almost 30. Will's 30th just wasn't that big of a deal. My mom made a cake, we had dinner and sang Happy Birthday with family. And then he was 30. That was that. Probably my birthday will pass with the same simpleness and lack of bravado, but that's how I like my life. Family is most important to me and it's not all my birthday anymore, it's G's, too. She'll be 6 and I'll be 30 and we'll be another year older. Before that happens, though, there are exciting events in the coming months: We're all in our first musical together! S will have her First Eucharist. G will be in her first dance recital and S in her second. Both will finish another year of school and summer--our favorite time--will be here and that means staying up late, running barefoot in the yard catching lightening bugs with neighbors while Will and I sit on the porch drinking Natty Bo and chatting with the other parents. There are always good times to be had. I hope they are the memories that are strongest for my girls and each time-out/grounding fades. For me, that's how it is.

Dear Diary

2011-02-21T20:26:00.006-05:00

My 8 year old daughter just started her first diary! And it's a PRIVATE diary. So private that she threatened to punch her sister in the face should she ever read it. News flash: G can't read... yet. Guess S wanted to get a jump on keeping G out of her private life. Yes, of course I commented immediately when I heard S quietly, yet severely, say this to her sister. S! I said sternly. She apologized, but reiterated that her diary would be private. Her sister accepted and agreed. Then G asked me if I had any more notebooks for her to start a diary. I looked, but I took all extra notebooks to school, so I told her I'd bring her one later this week. That didn't stop her, she got some paper and got started on her diary. G's first entry (she's 5) was a treasure map. Except her entry wasn't very private because she showed it to me as soon as she finished.

S's diary is a pretty little journal that I never used except for four pages, so I ripped those out. I've also been journaling again. As I've said I never did "Dear Diary," but instead wrote, "Dear Journal." Now I just date the pages and include the day of the week. After S started her diary she called down to ask me how to spell broccoli. So, it's that kind of diary: boring food stuff. Just kidding! I love food blogs, S knows I put my own recipes on my blog and S loves food, so of course she'd write about food!

I started my first journal at age 10. I hope S keeps it up and I hope it provides an outlet that she needs for venting her frustrations and focusing on her hopes and dreams. It beats biting her own arm, anyway. She used to do that whenever she was frustrated and recently I've noticed she has stopped. She had stopped before, but started it again. Maybe this time, though, she won't need it. She certainly uses books to escape and I'm so grateful she enjoys reading and writing.

I'm sure G will follow in her footsteps as well. From infancy both girls looked at books on their own. Up until this past year G fell asleep looking at books. Early this school year she started keeping paper and pencils in her room and playing school or simply writing before bed. Usually she'd just write letters she knew, but then through school she learned new sight words and wrote those. That was really a precursor to journaling.

S had journals in preschool, kindergarten and first grade. Free writing is very good for early education and for anyone's creative thinking, really. To take the initiative to write on her own makes me very proud. I hope when/if you read this one day, S, you won't mind my sharing these details of your life and you'll see how much I love you!

Teacher Conduct

2011-02-19T21:06:00.006-05:00

A while back I found a Baltimore City teacher's blog and actually called her school because she had listed her student's first names, the name of her school and her classroom number (which was the title of her blog). I left the website address with the secretary, who didn't really understand what a blog was, and after that day the blog was not updated again.

Recent news about Natalie Munroe prompted me to go through my own blog. What I found was some pictures in posts from my first year blogging. I left a few pics of my kids taken from behind but deleted any that showed our faces. I found one post that had my children's names rather than just their first initials and I cleaned that up. I also cleaned up a couple posts that were too negative and revealing and deleted, I think, four posts completely. My goal in having this blog is to share thoughts about myself and my life without negatively or inappropriately commenting on real people in my life. I could probably go and delete a few more posts that discuss my marriage, but those posts are not disparaging to my husband's character, or my own, and show the truth about the work marriage takes and the stress of raising kids.

I'd love to be like Heather Armstrong and show pictures. But I do not want that kind of public exposure. In fact, Ms. Armstrong coined the term "dooce," also the title of her blog, which is defined as being fired from one's job for one's blog. She sort of paved the path on that one. She also learned a valuable lesson and put it out there for other people to learn from.

Apparently Munroe wasn't familiar with this or just didn't care. In fact she is still supporting her right to blog as she did. I do think she has the right to blog as she wishes, but the school also has the right to, and should, terminate her employment. It is a teacher's responsibility to keep information about students confidential.
Here's what Munroe wrote in a recent post defending herself:
"But the fact remains that every year, more and more, students are coming in less willing to work, to think, to cooperate. These are the students I was complaining about in my blog. The same way millions of Americans go home at the end of the day and complain about select coworkers or clients or other jerks they had to deal with, I came home and complained on my blog about those I had to deal with."

I do share stories from teaching with my husband and my parents and sister, but I keep specific facts, such as names, confidential. A teacher should not share negative or divulging information about his/her school, the administration, the students, the parents or anyone else involved. If you don't take pride in your work or work place, find another work place! As Jackie says, teaching is a vocation.

Venting is something we all need to do from time to time, but vent where appropriate. The best people to vent with about work are colleagues. This is especially important for teachers. I'm sure Munroe and other teachers had discussed the things she put on her blog. It's necessary for teachers to discuss students because it helps us to serve them better. For instance, if I'm having an issue with a student that I want to resolve, I'll ask other teachers who have taught that student. They can give advice such as whether or not it's helpful to contact parents, or methods for motivating the student, or just generally comfort me that I'm not alone in having the issue(s). That's the type of support teachers give one another. Outside of that and talking with one's spouse/partner/closest best friend and family, it's inappropriate to blab about students or complain about one's school. The fact that millions of Americans come home and complain about work does not make it okay to do so on a PUBLIC blog when your job is a TEACHER!

Doctors, lawyers, therapists, social workers, counselors and teachers must keep work place information confidential. It's part of the job. I want students and parents to love my school. I don't like it when students complain or talk about the school being inferior. I think it's a great school with many teachers who love their subject and want it to be enjoyable for students. We do fun things for the students, like spirit week and field day and we have a lot of activities for students to do. It's often the "cool" thing to complain about high school when you're a high schooler. But when you're on the other side, as a teacher, you need to be professional. Optimism and positive energy are very helpful in the teaching profession/vocation and if you don't have that, then get out now because you'll only make yourself and your students feel worse.

Blue skies

2011-02-19T19:42:00.003-05:00

Waking up to a blue sky today felt so wonderful. (I changed the background on my blog, I love it so much.) We were also able to leave the house wearing just jackets! It was too blustery to do much outside, but the girls played soccer this morning so at least they got their exercise. Now it's supposed to dip into the 20s over night and there may be snow by Tuesday morning! Well, like my principal reminded the school at the assembly Friday, it's only February and we have a long ways to go until the end of the school year. Fine with me, I'm not wanting it to end. I just like the sun and warmer temperatures!

I dream about living somewhere that is warm all year, but I'd miss the winter around Christmas. It's just that after January I'm over it. Then I think about what a warm climate has: B-U-G-S! Fire ants, flies coming in the house anytime the door is opened, (killer) bees, bigger spiders... all the creepy crawlies we experienced in North Carolina. Then I really value the respite winter gives us from these creatures.

So, bring on the snow for one, or two, last harrahs and then I will rejoice when spring arrives.

Food Blog Winter 2011: Variation on Vegan Soup

2011-02-12T12:00:00.003-05:00

Today I added a little extra to my Vegan Chard and Potato Noodle Soup. I kept everything else the same and put in a cooked and mashed sweet potato. This gave the soup a more orange color as well as a thicker and sweeter broth. This is my favorite soup because it has everything I like: sweet and savory flavors, greens, noodles and ginger--don't forget the ginger!

On Valentines

2011-02-11T17:47:00.006-05:00

What are YOU doing for this holiday? Will and I had dinner out last Friday while my sister and brother-in-law babysat. We hadn't been out just us for a loooong time. Not that we don't get time together, it's just that our basement hangout gets a little old. I made Will a card at school. That reminds me...

Will and I met in January. I'm pretty sure Valentines was our first kiss. I do remember I made him a little Valentine's card and gave it to him in my dorm room. That was the first thing I ever made him. I've made him little things through the years. That first Valentines was a little awkward. Even though I knew he liked me and I really liked him, we hadn't professed our love for one another, nor had we verbalized dating exclusivity. I remember being nervous to give him the card. It wasn't super romantic. My roommate may have even been in the room at the time. I played it off as not being a big deal. But then, a little later, sitting on my dorm couch together, with his arm around my shoulders, he leaned in and it was the most beautiful, wonderful kiss. When it was over I responded, "I was wondering when you'd get around to doing that." He then reminded me that we HAD kissed. But I didn't count it because it was a little goodbye peck which was kind of a mistake. I was just leaning in for a hug and he went for the kiss. I don't know if I pulled back in surprise or if he only meant it to be quick. Either way, the real first kiss, the one I count on Valentine's Day 2000, was unforgettable. Fireworks. For real.

20 Questions Part 2

2011-02-07T15:30:00.001-05:00

11. Where am I wrong?
"Your ego wants you to avoid noticing where you may have bad information or unworkable ideas."

I think this is most helpful in personal relationships, such as with a spouse. I am wrong when I think "woe-is-me, I have it so hard." I don't.

12. What potential memories am I bartering, and is the profit worth the price?
"Every time you choose social acceptance over your heart's desires, or financial gain over ethics, or your comfort zone over the adventure you were born to experience, you're making a similar deal. Don't."

This is definitely something I considered when I chose to go to Kris Carr's book signing. At first I thought I probably wouldn't go. I'd just get home, get cozy and not want to go out. But then I realized it wasn't worth missing! So I went and I'm glad I did. It's the same with going to the gym. I had the best yoga workout yesterday and I almost didn't go.

13. Am I the only one struggling not to {fart} during {yoga}?
"Substitute your greatest shame-fear: crying at work, belching in church, throwing up on the prime minister of Japan. Then know you aren't alone. Accepting this is a bold step toward mental health and a just society."

I hadn't read this question before I mentioned yoga, but I certainly thought about this last night! I actually had a great yoga instructor the first time I ever took the class and she actually said not to worry if it happens. I had a terribly embarrassing incident in middle school gym class concerning farts and sit ups. Reading this blog post reminded me, but also made me feel better about it. Of course, it's one thing to have such an incident happen as a preteen and another to have it happen as an adult. Take today, for instance. I had sweat marks on my shirt and it was more noticeable than usual, so I put a sweater on to cover it up. As I did so I chastised myself for even worrying about it, but then I told myself that if it makes me feel better to wear the sweater then I shouldn't give myself a hard time. (Do you have this much inner dialogue with yourself?) I have gotten over a LOT of stuff while growing up and am less embarrassed about faux pas now than when I was younger. Still, I obviously have some growing to do.

14. What do I love to practice?
"Some psychologists believe that no one is born with any particular talent and that all skill is gained through practice. Studies have shown that masters are simply people who've practiced a skill intensely for 10,000 hours or more. That requires loving—not liking, loving—what you do. If you really want to excel, go where you're passionate enough to practice."

My answer is obvious to those who know me: art. But why don't I do it more? And there's another question.

15. Where could I work less and achieve more?
"To maximize time spent practicing your passions, minimize everything else. These days you can find machines or human helpers to assist with almost anything. Author Timothy Ferriss "batches" job tasks into his famous "four-hour workweek." My client Cindy has an e-mail ghostwriter. Another client, Angela, hired an assistant in the Philippines who flawlessly tracks her schedule and her investments. Get creative with available resources to find more time in your life and life in your time."

I left this entire quote in because I find it kind of ridiculous. The examples are a little over-the-top compared to the life of an average person. No ghost writer for me. But then again, I don't get more emails than I can manage. I think I do a pretty good job of using my time wisely at work. I utilize my planning periods to type up handouts, worksheets and tests. I grade in the time after school before my girls are done their activities. All this makes it easy to focus on other things outside of work: exercise, dinner, my family and their activities, play practice. I don't bring much work home, if any.

16. How can I keep myself absolutely safe?
"Ask this question just to remind yourself of the answer: You can't. Life is inherently uncertain. The way to cope with that reality is not to control and avoid your way into a rigid little demi-life, but to develop courage. Doing what you long to do, despite fear, will accomplish this."

This goes along with "why worry?" I want to travel, I want to drive to new places, I want to fly in a plane. If I worry about the dangers, it won't be enjoyable.

17. Where should I break the rules?
"If everyone kept all the rules, we'd still be practicing cherished traditions like child marriage, slavery, and public hangings. The way humans become humane is by assessing from the heart, rather than the rule book, where the justice of a situation lies."

I was once asked this question in a job interview: "What would you do if you didn't understand why there was a certain rule? Would you have a problem adhering to the rule?" I responded that I'd uphold the rule, but if I was curious or didn't understand the purpose I would ask just so I would be better informed. It was easy enough to answer. "Rules are made to be broken" jumped into my head, but of course I wasn't going to joke in a job interview!

On a larger scale, there are two rules that I would like to be changed: gay marriage and legalization of marijuana. Not allowing two consenting adults to have legal rights in a civil union is against freedom. Why do I want a DRUG legalized? Because I want it regulated (i.e. not in the hands of 13 year olds) and because it is on the same level as alcohol. A student once asked me if it were to be legalized would the legal age be 18 like cigarettes. I told him that it would more likely be 21, the same as alcohol. Why? they asked. Because it's a mind altering substance! It kills brain cells! Same as alcohol. That's why children and teenagers who have developing minds and bodies should not use either substance. (BTW, I did not share my thoughts on this subject. A student just asked me the question. They must have been talking about it before class.)

18. So say I lived in that fabulous house in Tuscany, with untold wealth, a gorgeous, adoring mate, and a full staff of servants...then what?
"We can get so obsessed with acquiring fabulous lives that we forget to live."

I can't deny I think "if only I had more $." I'm not dreaming a crazy fantasy of wealth and luxury, but seriously, what if I didn't have to worry about finances. How would that change the focus of my life. I would be less restricted and I'd probably have more crap (clothes, shoes, manicures, etc.), but would it really improve my life? Would it improve yours? My answer is "no." I have what I need and I have people I love and who love me. I really do not need any more than that.

19. Are my thoughts hurting or healing?
"Your situation may endanger your life and limbs, but only your thoughts can endanger your happiness. Telling yourself a miserable mental story about your circumstances creates suffering. Telling yourself a more positive and grateful story, studies show, increases happiness. "

I agree 100%!!! This is something I am trying to ingrain in my children, especially S, who is a victim of "stinkin' thinkin'" much of the time. A few years ago I told her we all have energy and it can be positive or negative. After exercising, I explained, I felt full of positive energy and her whining and complaining was giving me negative energy. Her response was, "I don't believe in that." Ha! She's finally getting it, though.

20. Really truly: Is this what I want to be doing?
"It's been several seconds since you asked this. Ask it again. Not to make yourself petulant or frustrated—just to see if it's possible to choose anything, and I mean any little thing, that would make your present experience more delightful. Thus continues the revolution."

Actually, it's been a few days since I first answered this question. Today was a pretty easy day, as far as my job is considered, which makes it even easier to say "Yes! Coming to work every day IS what I want to be doing!" But even on days that are less enjoyable (or even awful) I still want to be doing this job.

Let me put the focus on my life outside of work. Is going to the gym what I want to be doing? Yes. Is blogging what I want to be doing? Yes. Is watching a Disney movie with my kids what I want to be doing? No, not at first, but then I realize it can be fun. Is cooking dinner what I want to be doing? Yes. Is going to bed each night with the person I chose to spend every day of my life with what I want to be doing? Y-E-S!

Food Blog Winter 2011: Vegan Chard and Potato Noodle Soup

2011-02-05T15:19:00.003-05:00

After sitting in a chilly high school gym for two hours this morning while my kids played soccer, I wanted something warm and comforting for lunch. I'd had a cup of coffee while at the school, but I'd also had two jars of cold green juice. The juice gives me energy and mental clarity like nothing else and I wanted to eat something that would keep me feeling light and zippy. The perfect option was a fresh, homemade soup. I looked in my fridge and cupboard, which is kind of bare since we're due for a grocery shopping trip this weekend, and from what I found I devised this soup. This isn't just a soup for today, though. It's a recipe I will certainly do again. The ingredients are items I like to have in the house and eat on a regular basis.

Without any further ado, for your cooking and eating pleasure I present to you,

Chard & Potato Noodle Soup

Will had juiced chard yesterday, but there was one bunch left. I think it's so beautiful!

In addition to the veggies, I added half this package of rice noodles.

The Recipe:
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 Mediume white potato peeled and cubed
1 Medium sweet potato peeled and cubed
1 small sweet onion finely chopped
2 cups chopped swiss chard (remove stem)
8 oz rice noodles
32 oz vegetable broth + water (3 cups)
salt and pepper to taste
grated ginger to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the garlic, potatoes and onion and salt and pepper and saute until beginning to soften and brown. Pour in vegetable broth and water to cover vegetables, leaving room for chard and noodles. Cover and bring to a boil. Then simmer covered until the potatoes are cooked (20-30 min.). Turn heat to low, add swiss chard and rice noodles. Cover 5-10 minutes until noodles are soft. Grate fresh ginger into soup, stir and serve.

Ginger tip: Peel and cut the ginger into 3-4 inch pieces when you buy it. Then wrap each piece in cling wrap and put them in a baggy to keep in the freezer. The frozen ginger can easily be grated into your dish.

G gives the soup 5 STARS!

Food Blog Winter 2011: Okonomiyaki

2011-02-01T15:01:00.005-05:00

Before leaving school yesterday I had some free time while S was at chorus practice. I read some of the blogs I follow and came across this post from Your Vegan Mom. I've never had okonomiyaki before, but Vegan Mom's pictures and description looked and sounded like something my kids and I would enjoy. The only thing I was missing was tofu. I figured a large pancake would be doable without it, so I set about making it with the ingredients I had at home. First I whisked together 2 cups of whole wheat flour, 2 tsp sea salt, and 2 tsp baking powder. Then I added two eggs equivalent of egg replacer and 1 3/4 cups of water. This made your average looking pancake batter. Next I put zucchini, yellow squash and kale leaves (minus the stems) through the salad shooter. It added up to 4 cups of vegetables. I added this to my batter and mixed it well.

Then I put about 3/4 cup of batter into a hot, oiled cast iron skillet and I let it cook until it was almost cooked through.

When it started looking mostly cooked I put it under the broiler until it was browned on top as well. Then I flipped it onto a plate and voila! G is asking for more pancake. They'd each already had 1/2 of the the first one.

I ate some of the second one. It was very tasty.

We dipped it in soy sauce mixed with agave and a little yellow mustard. I served it with salad, hence the fork, but here's S demonstrating how she preferred to eat her okonomiyaki.

I had a great time making and eating a new food, so thanks Vegan Mom for the recipe. My girls thank you, too!

20 Questions Part 1

2011-01-31T19:42:00.004-05:00

My responses to this article in O Magazine:
20 Questions That Could Change Your Life
Finding the answers starts with posing the right questions—and Martha Beck has 20 to get you started.
By Martha Beck

1. What questions should I be asking myself?
" It creates an alert, thoughtful mind state, ideal for ferreting out the information you most need in every situation. Ask it frequently."

So, this question is for use in various situations. It reminds me of lesson planning. When I think about a project and the information I want my students to understand I think about what questions they will have. I think about past students and where they ran into trouble and I think about the students I currently have. Basically I ask myself questions as if I were the student.

2. Is this what I want to be doing?
" Ask yourself many times every day if you like what you're doing. If the answer is no, start noticing what you'd prefer. Thus begins the revolution."

"Doing" usually makes me, and probably others, think "job" or "career." That's not necessarily what this question means to me. What about when I'm looking in the fridge and I'm not really hungry or I'm staying online past 10 pm? Those are definitely times I should ask myself this question. Another great moment for this question is when I'm losing my temper with my kids.

3. Why worry?
" Worry rarely leads to positive action; it's just painful, useless fear about hypothetical events, which scuttles happiness rather than ensuring it."

My game is "What's the worst that can happen?" When I answer that question, I don't worry so much.

4. Why do I like {cupcakes} more than I like {people}?
Feel free to switch out the words in brackets... But forcing "virtues"—trying to like people more than cupcakes—drives us to vices that offer false freedom from oppression. Stop trying to like the things you don't like, and many vices will disappear on their own.

How's this one: Why do I like sleeping late more than being productive in the morning?
My answer: I am productive in the morning when I have to be. When I don't have to be, let myself enjoy sleeping late. Works for me!

5. How do I want the world to be different because I lived in it?
" Maybe you know you're here to create worldwide prosperity, a beautiful family, or one really excellent bagel. If your impressions are more vague, keep asking this question. Eventually you'll glimpse clearer outlines of your destiny. Live by design, not by accident."

I like the last sentence. It reminds me of my attempt at meditation last night. Meditation is about leading the mind instead of letting the mind lead you. I've always been a go with the flow gal, but I've done what I've wanted as well. I want my family tree to grow and flourish and not be ridden with disease and despair. My example to my children and that which I teach them can be passed on to their own children and so on. Disease doesn't have to plague families!

6. How do I want to be different because I lived in this world?
" What experiences do you want to have during your brief sojourn here? Make a list. Make a vision board. Make a promise. This won't control your future, but it will shape it."

I want to be involved and I want to enjoy the experiences I have. I think I'm doing that, but I can always do more and join more. Change keeps you "young" and I have had a lot of changes in my life. I plan to keep them coming.

7. Are {vegans} better people?
"Again, it doesn't have to be vegans; the brackets are for you to fill in. Substitute the virtue squad that makes you feel worst about yourself, the one you'll never have the discipline to join, whether it's ultra-marathoners or mothers who never raise their voices. Whatever group you're asking about, the answer to this question is no."

I kept this entire quote intact. The answer is no! Vegans is actually a really great fill-in-the-bracket for me because, as you know, I cook a lot of vegan food and eat vegan most of the time. BUT I'm not vegan. Nope. I eat eggs and goat cheese and sometimes salmon. I still think of myself as vegan, though, because I prepare so much vegan food for my family.

Another good one: Are older, wiser mothers better mothers? Or, the one from the quote: Are mothers who never yell or spank better people? No and no. I do the best I can and I am ALWAYS pushing myself to be better, to be more patient, to be more understanding.

8. What is my body telling me?
" The body knows better. It's a wise, capable creature. It recoils from what's bad for us, and leans into what's good. Let it."

My body used to tell me it was sick. I finally listened and continue to try to do so. It's not easy.

9. How much junk could a chic chick chuck if a chic chick could chuck junk?
"I believe this question was originally posed by Lao Tzu, who also wrote, 'To become learned, each day add something. To become enlightened, each day drop something.'"

I can ALWAYS get rid of things. I usually have a bag or box of things to donate sitting by the front door. I like knowing what I have, especially when it comes to clothes and shoes. If I don't wear it, don't like it, if it doesn't fit right, I get it out.

10. What's so funny?
"Adults tend to put this question to children in a homicidal-sounding snarl, which is probably why as you grew up, your laughter rate dropped from 400 times a day (for toddlers) to the grown-up daily average of 15. Regain your youth by laughing at every possible situation."

Ha! Truthfully, giggling and joking around is one of the most endearing and annoying things about little kids, especially in a classroom situation. I do love cracking up with my own children though. I also find teenagers thoroughly entertaining and I do chuckle a lot during my work days.

Famous anonymity

2011-01-30T19:08:00.004-05:00

My in-laws took my girls to Baltimore Oriole's Fan Fest yesterday. They got a couple signatures on their baseballs and had a fun time. S will tell you she prefers the Orioles and over the Ravens and doesn't understand why she should support both when she really doesn't like football. Truthfully, I'm with her! Shhh. Don't tell anyone. I wear purple to church often and people assume I'm a fan and I'm showing my support. Really, I just like purple and it looks good on me.
Here's where my father-in-law is mentioned in a totally anonymous way in The Sun:
"The optimism was evident in the long line of fans that snaked around the Convention Center on a chilly morning long before the doors had opened. It was evident inside as well as one fan wore an Orioles jacket that included the years of the team's three World Series championships and a label that read, "This spot reserved for 2011."
He's the "one fan" with the "jacket." Pretty cool.

Regina Spektor - That Time Live (Bonnaroo 2010)

2011-01-29T14:10:00.000-05:00

Remember that time when I told you I like this chic? I really, really do.

A little message to Chuck Todd

2011-01-28T20:18:00.002-05:00

This morning's off-the-cuff comment about Robert Gibb's pastel pink tie not being allowed in your truck was inappropriate. I don't believe you meant it to be homophobic or gay-bashing. I understand that males in our society have been raised to be macho and pastel pink hasn't fit that bill for some time. But, you're on TV and maybe saying that truck=manly and pastel tie=sissy is not the message you want to send. I enjoy your work on MSNBC and I think the people that work for the network are mostly trustworthy and hard working. Also, Gibbs did have an appropriate joke in pointing out how casual jeans are. Come on, with a tie? Maybe with an oxford and a sweater next time. :)

Plant Blood

2011-01-26T09:40:00.002-05:00

I've been drinking my fill of the delicious sunshine-filled blood of plants. Inspired by Kris Carr and her newest book, it's been so great to have the energy that green juice gives me. No more 3pm crashes. It's been WONDERFUL! To show support for Kris Carr and also to bask in her glow, I went to see her on her book tour stop here in Baltimore! It was very surreal to see her in person. Her vlogs are such real portrayals of her, that seeing her in person is akin to watching a vlog post. But then I got to speak to her and thank her for stopping in Baltimore and I got my book signed. Yay! She signed it Peace, Love and Veggies. I didn't bring my camera, so no pics to put on facebook, but it wasn't about that. I was so happy just to be there and excited to get my book signed that I was teary-eyed during her talk. She was so enthusiastic and a great speaker.

I've been bringing mason jars of green juice to work with me and sipping throughout the day. Here's a post about my student's reactions. Pretty funny.

8 Questions for my 8 year old

2011-01-23T22:05:00.002-05:00

I did this last year with both my girls and S has certainly changed. She seems a bit more jaded, really. Half way through, she interviews me.

Me: What is your favorite book of all time?

S: American Girl books.

Me: Which one?

S: I don't know, I love all of them.

Me: If you could take a trip anywhere in the world, where would you go and who would go with you?

S: I'd go to Williamsburg again and my Grandma and Elfie would come with me. Or I might go to some of the places that some of the American Girls lived so I could check it out and see what it was like. And I hope they have scenes of, like, what it looked like back then and things.

Me: Okay. If you could live in any time period of the past, when would you like to live?

S: In the Colony times...1776, you know. Because I think it would be like really cool there, to like live there and live in that time because it was a really cool experience and I could learn what it was like back then.

Me: Do you have any ideas on careers you'd like to have when you grow up?

S: Well, I'd like to be a teacher but I haven't decided which grade to be yet.

Me: When you are a teenager, what will you look like?

S: Uh, I don't know. Cuz I can't see the future.

Me: If you were famous, what would you be famous for?

S: Singing. And dancing. And both of them would be seperate because I would have a career for singing and a career for dancing and I might be a teacher and I probably won't be famous when I grow up. And I think I want to be a, um, second grade teacher.

Me: What is your relationship like with your mother?

S: Uh, that's a very good question. I don't feel like talking about that to share with other strangers. You'd better not type that in mom.

Me: Okay.

S: It's a little embarrassing to say it on this thing whatever you're doing because it's my very own business.

Me: The people who read this, who are strangers, don't know who we are. I don't use your name on here or put pictures up.

S: But I don't thin kit's good to share our own private business with other people even if they don't know who we are. I mean, it still matters. It's our private business, they can't go snooping around trying to get it.

Me: You know Nana and Aunt L and Aunt E and Grandma sometimes read my blog.

S: Well, I don't want to share what my... they probably know what ti's liek to have children anyway, except for the people in my family who don't yet, but they probably will.

Me: Could you just share with me what your relationship is like with your mother and I won't type it?

S: (Silence.)

Me: Moving on.

S: (Laughs.) Ha.

Me: Last question. Let's make it a good one. Why are you up at 10:15 pm?

S: Okay, we shoudl probably already have the answer to that one. I can't get asleep. Now it's not because of my light on, it's because of...well, I did get up at eight-something this morning, I think. So, I'm very much not tired. Actually I feel like I could stay up and read for my whole life actually.

S: What's the capital of North Dakota.

Me: Bismark?

S: What did you think when a girl's father mistaked Uncle L for his daughter?

Me: I thought it was funny. It was reasonable because they were both little kids, the same size and the same hair cut, so from the stands when the kids played little league, they looked the same.

S: What's it like staying up for a very long time at night?

Me: It's pretty much like the day time, without sunlight or children running around. It's quiet.

S: Okay. Here's an opinion. I know that, well, nevermind, backspace it, backspace, hahahaha! (She's reading over my shoulder and laughing.)

Me: Go on, what's your opinion?

S: Well, don't think it's like... grownups have to stay up late. Well, they don't have to stay up late at night, but I dont' see why they do. I mean you rather should like go to bed because then when you get up in the morning you won't be such a crankpot and deal with crankpot kids.

Me: Alright. It really is time for us both to get to bed. 6 AM is WAY too early and will be here before we know it.

S: Well, no, not happenin' I could stay up all night and dance like a little cute puppy ballerina.

Me: And that shows just how silly you are because you're so tired. Thank you for being interviewed and thank you for interviewing me in return.

S: Please! (In a silly, sarcastic tone. I don't know what she's referring to, but she loves that word these days.)

Crazy Sexy Diet

2011-01-20T18:14:00.003-05:00

Today is the third day Will and I have been on the 21 day cleanse following the book. I haven't actually gotten the book, but I have been following posts at My Crazy Sexy Life. Check out my new badge over there. Isn't that fun? You can join too! Great sales pitch, eh? (I'm practicing in case we have to move to Canada in the future. Shh.)

Anyway, day three, but the official cleanse started four days ago, so you'll find people on the site who are going through major detox. It's tough. The first time I detoxed it was amazing. My body was so toxic. It's not the same this time around. I'm still keeping in mind Natalia Rose's recommendations for food combining and detoxing for seven days before was good, except then I ate a couple sandwiches and Will made brownies... and blah blah. So for a week I was not following the detox program and then I told Will about the 21 day cleanse and all it entailed and voila, we're doing it together! He has impressed me. He went to Chipotle and didn't have meat or tortilla! Crazy. Just crazy. I was curious as to what he ate for lunch yesterday, and when he told me that I was happy for him but oh, it made me want a burrito/fajita bowl. See, you're supposed to have one or the other. Burrito bowl has rice and beans as the base, then the salsa etc. The Fajita bowl has rice and peppers and onions as the base. But I get beans and peppers and onions, then two kinds of salsa (mild and medium), lettuce and guacamole.

For dinner tonight I made my own rendition of my favorite Chipotle food. I combined six slices of skillet fried polenta, black beans and kidney beans (seasoned with garlic powder--leftover from two days ago), baby spinach, sauteed orange bell pepper and sweet onion, one tomato cut up and guacamole. I blended three avocados along with garlic powder, 1/4 sweet onion (would have preferred red onion) and a little medium salsa. YUM! Are you thinking, THREE avocados? Maybe not because you already know I have a family. The girls joined me in partaking of the amazing guacamole. They also had a serving of the beans, raw pepper slices and wheat thins. I tell ya, I was full after my meal. I'd only had an apple for breakfast and a small spinach/carrot salad at lunch and a green lemonade in the afternoon, so I was hungry!

(Spell check does not recognize polenta or Chipotle.)

Crazy Sexy Diet

2011-01-17T19:41:00.004-05:00

My Interview with Kris Carr, Crazy Sexy Diet from gabriellebernstein on Vimeo.

For all those wondering how REAL is this diet and how REAL is this woman, Kris Carr, THIS is the video for you. Her site has vlogs, her community has real members chatting right now, but this video really sums up how doable and real this diet is. Her 21 Day Cleanse started today and her book can be your guide. This is the week she has asked people to buy it because this is the week that counts toward landing this book at number one on the Best Seller's list.

The part I love about this video is Kris tells Gabby that since so much of the rest of her diet is wonderful, that she could continue having one cup of coffee in the morning. Gabby is pretty much willing to give up caffeine, but what she loves is the taste and the ritual. Me too. Kris explains the options there. One thing that is different between me and Gabby: she doesn't drink alcohol. Me? I like my beer and wine and gin and crown royal... And I like a seltzer or soda along with the liquor. So what am I to do? Which am I more willing to give up? Coffee, duh. I'd much rather replace coffee with green tea and green juices so I can still have a drink any evening I choose.

Guess what happened this morning. Knowing it was the start of the 21 Day Cleanse, I logged into the Crazy Sexy Life community and checked out the blog. Will asked what I was doing. I mean, I hadn't even had my coffee yet! (It was brewing.) I said, "The Crazy Sexy Diet 21 Day Cleanse starts today and she outlines all the changes to make today." Will responded, "Can't I start tomorrow? I have pizza heating up in the oven." Whaaaa? I didn't even know he was planning on doing this with me. I'd been talking about how I want to get the book for the last couple weeks and was reading Natalia Rose's book in the meantime to detox. I'd started juicing more. But did I ever ask him to do this with me? I know I'd thought it. "Oh, it'd be so nice if he would do this with me. He probably wouldn't want to. It's like when he asked me to do Atkins with him years ago and I couldn't go one day without a bagel. Why ever would he say yes to giving up meat, cheese and alcohol?"

I proceeded to read aloud Kris's Day One changes which include giving up coffee, flesh, dairy and alcohol. Just 21 days, right?! Right away Will said he wouldn't stop drinking coffee. And what about decaf? He likes the ritual, too. He went on to talk about how he reads a lot of news and nowhere is anyone badmouthing coffee with or without caffeine and giving it up is never recommended for other diets he's read about. Whoa, whoa. This is not a weight loss diet, I explained, this is an alkalizing diet, an anti-inflammatory diet. It's about better health and energy. Coffee, in any form, is acidic. She doesn't want you to start you day with an acidic drink. So in the end, he agreed that he could do this for 21 days, but he's keeping coffee. For 21 days: No cheese? No meat? Not even fish!? (We'll probably have salmon.) No..... alcohol? He says he can do it.

We're allowing eggs during the cleanse, too.

Boots 2011

2011-01-15T19:44:00.003-05:00

I love my Bare Traps suede ankle boots. I wear them every day I have off from school and any school day I wear jeans. All my jeans are either boot cut or straight leg jeans. I do no own skinny jeans. I do own leggings, as of this winter, for wearing under sweater dresses. I own three sweater dresses and have only worn one with leggings to a wedding. I wore high heels but should have worn flats due to the amount of dancing and then walking I did. Anyway, I've been thinking about getting knee high boots. I did have a faux leather pair in black that I'd gotten at Wal-mart many years ago. The style of these boots had gone out of fashion so I donated them to Good Will this past summer. I recently went to the mall to get new sneakers for working out and I saw many a woman in knee-high boots. The thing I noticed is that women of ALL ages were wearing them with pants tucked in. Since I don't own skinny jeans I'd decided that if I wore knee-high boots it'd be with leggings or tights. Does the fact that every age group of women wears boots over pants mean that the fad is going out the door or that it's here to stay for longer? That I'm not sure. What I am sure about is that I'm not interested in buying leather shoes. Granted, my new sneakers do have leather and are not all man-made materials as I'd prefer, but I did what I could. I have a budget and a need and I did the best to meet those two criteria. There are boots that are made with fabrics and not leather and if I do get new ankle boots they will not be leather. G has a pair of uber fashionable boots. They are similar to Uggs, in brown suede. We bought them at a thrift store. She loves dressing nicely, so she appreciates them. Her favorite way to wear them is with tights and a dress. She had a soccer practice this morning and instead of staying in her sweat pants and T-shirt, when we got home she changed into tights, a dress and dress shoes. What a girlie girl!

Finding Support

2011-01-14T14:10:00.003-05:00

Here I am at 2 in the afternoon having some ME time. At work. Ha! It's actually doable today with no students. Today is a professional day because of exams. Well, I'm done grading and have been straightening the classroom, decluttering, putting things away and just generally getting organized for a new semester. Wiping the slate clean--literally! I love clean blackboards. White boards are easier and cleaner, but I have to work with what I have.

So, I'm eating half a grapefruit and drinking green tea. Green tea is not recommended by Natalia Rose, but it has good antioxidants and I enjoy it, so I have it occasionally. I usually drink herbal or decaf tea. I watched Kris Carr's latest vlog and it got me really excited because I'm getting exactly what I need: Community. She is starting a 21 day cleanse starting on the 17th. Her book is out right now, but if you're going to buy it, wait until the 16th through the 21st so it can be on the best seller list. I'm definitely getting a copy. But even before I do, I'll be going to her site to follow along with the cleanse. I know I already started 10 days ago and I've been doing really well, but I need more support. Knowing there is a whole community of people changing their eating at the same time and in similar ways is supportive, encouraging and just plain comforting. Just watching Kris Carr's vlogs and seeing she is a real person who really is eating to live, to coin a phrase, shows that it is doable. Granted, she got a kick in the pants with a cancer diagnosis, but that doesn't make it any easier to keep going. In fact, it probably makes it harder at times.

One thing that keeps running through my head: Lauren, you already know the information in the book. You've been reading Crazy Sexy Life since it launched and the regular blog before hand. What do you need the book for?

When it comes to spending money I try to talk myself out of it. "Do you need it? Can you live without it?" This is what I hear in my head. My answer for this book? I want it! I want to support the site that I read for free every day. Also, I'm sure there is information in there I would learn from. Besides, reading things over again helps you learn them and put them into practice. Believe me, I will get this book.

Snow Delay makes for Juice Day

2011-01-12T18:47:00.000-05:00

With the two hour delay this morning, and a wonderful husband who cleaned off my car, I had extra time to juice and to even clean the juicer right away! I made a green lemonade, added filtered water and left for school with three mason jars full of green goodness. I drank one simultaneously with my coffee at 10 AM. Then I had another around 1 PM and another when I got home at 4:30 PM. I had brought an avocado and a Lara bar with me planning to remain completely raw, but I just kept drinking juice and never felt like eating. I was busy grading and supervising students through the morning and then organized lesson plan binders and paper work through the afternoon. I helped the new after school elementary art teacher with her first class this afternoon, then got the kids and came home.

For dinner I had something that is not recommended on an alkalizing or detoxing diet: dairy and wheat. I had homemade mac n cheese left over, so I heated it up with a little extra almond milk and shredded cheese. Then I added baby spinach and soft goat cheese. There was a LOT of spinach in mine and it filled me up fast. After I ate it I had phlegm in my throat. Darn dairy. At least I put it in my digestive system when it had been resting easy all day just taking in all the good nutrients from green juice.

I am very tempted to eat cheese, especially when it's in the house! When I don't have it, I don't eat it. That's how I stopped eating so many sweets years ago. I just didn't buy Oreos when I was at the store, though I wanted to, and then I didn't have any Oreos to eat. I'm very good at telling myself "No" at the grocery store, but once I'm home I'm just gonna have it. I know this about myself. It's very difficult at this time to be nondairy because Will loves cheese and keeps buying it. I keep discussing things I read about eating an alkaline diet and he's taken some of the information into action. He cut WAY back on meat consumption. Basically, if he doesn't buy it, he doesn't eat it and he doesn't buy much of it. Meat used to be a regular on our dinner table. I'm very happy he's made this change. Now if I could just keep dairy out of the house we'd all be in better shape (digestively).

At this time in the evening I'm very satisfied with what I've had to eat/drink today. I had two small squares of nondairy dark chocolate after dinner. It's cold, so I'm going to have some herbal tea with a agave. Oh, funny story. The first time I said "agave" out loud I pronounced it ah-gave. I said it to the cashier at a health food store. Real smart, huh. Prior to that I'd only read about it, so I didn't know. But, once I heard it pronounced correctly I was like, DUH! So I don't plan on eating anything else, but I may have a bowl of cereal later. I'm not going to have any more protein food today since I already miscombined at dinner. I'll just stick with the carbs and satisfy my desire for them this evening.

Maybe we'll even have another delay tomorrow and I can make a bunch of juice again.

This morning's juice:
1 bunch celery, 1/2 cucumber, 1/2 head of Romaine, 7 stalks kale, 3 lemons, 1 apple
The juice was a beautiful light green, almost fluorescent. Simply beautiful. I also sprinkled a little stevia in each mason jar. It was very much like lemonade, as it's supposed to be.

Detox Day 7

2011-01-11T18:17:00.002-05:00

Breakfast: Lara bar and coffee
Lunch: Egg salad (two hard boiled eggs and mayo) over baby spinach and 1/2 cucumber peeled
Snack: I couldn't wait for dinner, so when I got home at three I made a dinner type meal: One bunch of rainbow chard (not organic this time) sauteed with garlic and butter and mixed in leftover quinoa/corn noodles. Swiss chard is so beautiful. As soon as this chard got cooking I could smell the difference from the last chard I had which was organic. It was not as sweet and mild, but it was still good. I ate a big plate of that, had a tad bit of red wine (I love it with greens) and then I was still wanting something else so I had a bowl of Go Lean Crunch cereal with almond milk.

Play practice was scheduled for this evening but has been canceled due to some snow (not much) and possible ice. I'm starting to get a little hungry again. I might heat up some of what the kids had for dinner even though it's probably not the best for the digestive system. I made them Tostatas. I toasted a tortilla in the oven, cut it into triangles and put Gimme Lean ground beef (vegan) on top. I'd sauteed the veggie meat in a skillet with garlic breaking it up into small crumbles. I put a heafty portion of guacamole on top. I made it using a little salsa, garlic powder and fork mashed avocado.

Today is my last entry (for now) titled Detox Day. I'm going to continue eating light to heavy and focus on keeping green juice and leafy greens a regular part of my daily diet. I'm also going to stay away from junk food like donuts and cookies and have cereal and dark chocolate to satisfy my sweet tooth. I'll continue logging my food often as it helps me keep track of how I'm eating. Looking back, I had three days grain free! That is HUGE for me! I usually have bread of some sort with every meal: donut or toast in the morning, crackers at lunch, pasta at dinner, toast or biscuit for snack. Cutting it out noticeably helped with bloating. I felt lighter and my pants felt less tight (even while menstruating, which most women experience some bloating with). I'm also going to continue doing group exercise classes. I expect to be noticing weight loss in the next couple weeks with this routine. I already feel better. Greens make such a difference! I realized I love being hydrated. I'm making more of a conscious effort to drink from my water bottle throughout the day and when I get home, I keep it nearby and finish any water that is left. Then I refill it about half way and drink that through the evening. For a couple nights during this seven days I had to use the bathroom around 2-3 am, but the last two nights I have not and I've been drinking even more water and green juice. Go figure!

I would really like a two-hour delay tomorrow. That way I could take the time to juice. Ideally I'd like to have three mason jars of green juice to have throughout the morning. That would keep me feeling satisfied until lunch.

What did I do well today: Combined well (so far!) Said no to donuts left on the table for teachers (I literally had to say no, no, no to myself until I listened. In the past I'd say, no, no, oh fine, go ahead.) Drank water. Did not have any sugar until the cereal this afternoon. Not having sugar in the morning and at lunch is also huge for me.

I am enjoying eating this way and continue to look through Detox for Women to find new recipe ideas and combinations that are good to have. Even though I've eaten this way for an extended time before (when I started this blog) it takes some relearning after not following it. Sometimes I'd think about my food combining and I'd realize how it was affecting me. I just wasn't ready to change it. As I read from one woman's testimonial in the book, it's not just that the food needs to change, but other facets of your life might be disordered and need fixing. Once that happens, then the food is easy to do. And, really, that's true. I couldn't focus on eating this way when I was stressed with commuting to work and not knowing where my family would be living or when we'd move. Now that we are comfortable in our own home, have joined a gym, are involved in fun extracurricular activities and feel stable in many ways, I can focus on feeding myself well again.

Detox Day 6

2011-01-10T21:45:00.004-05:00

I don't feel like I'm detoxing. I think more measures are needed, but I don't have the equipment for that right now. Here's how I ate today:
Breakfast: Coffee (stevia/Silk) and grapefruit
Lunch: Butternut squash soup and 1/2 tomato with a little bit of avocado (left over from the previous night)
Snack: 1/2 red pepper, sliced
I ate my snack after school and when I got home I had to get ready for step class. I was getting hungry so I ate a hard boiled egg, then went to class.
Dinner: 2/3 a box of Quinoa and corn pasta with baby spinach and soft goat cheese
Evening snack: Grain, after not having it for three days, made me want more grain! And sweet! So, I gave in and had a bowl of cheerios with almond milk. Then I had 1/5 my bar of 70% cocoa. Yum! That's the perfect amount of cocoa. More than that and it's too bitter for me.

Where did I miscombine? The dairy and grain at dinner. I'm not worried about it, though.

Where have I done well: I have gone six days without sugar until after dinner. That is amazing! I used to have donuts and cookies (they're still available in the faculty room, but I don't partake) and sugar in my coffee and sometimes jam on bread. So now I'm raw in the morning. I eat partially raw at lunch, then I eat cooked food at dinner.

It's been six days and while I feel lighter and more energy, for the most part, I'm not expelling waste like I want to be. Waste=weight. Basically, for me, bloating and cellulite. Two things can help me detox better: juice feasting (fasting) and enemas. Ah! It's true, though. Go look for yourself. The information is out there.

Speaking about body image, going to the gym and these group classes has actually made me see how small I am. Often, I don't think of myself as small. It's not logical, but it's left over from pregnancy and post-pregnancy days of being larger. When I'm at an exercise class surrounded by women of all shapes and sizes, I'm never the smallest, but I am on that end of the spectrum. This got me thinking about high school. I was a thin teenager, so I know the response some girls can have to that. It was like it was my fault I was thin. Then, when I worked out to lose pregnancy weight, I felt the opposite, like no one gave me credit for doing it because I'd been thin before so it was to be expected. Only recently, when seeing people I hadn't seen in over five years did I feel acknowledged for my life changes I've made in diet and body shape. Anyway, back to the response some girls had in HS. Well, adults are often the same people they were when they were teens, so I can't help but wonder, do women who need to lose weight hate me? Just in the generic sort of way, like thinking, "Why is she here?" or "F---ing skinny bitch." Back to the expectations thing. I also have felt like I let people down with my physical inabilities which are not in accordance to my size. Though I'm thin with long legs, I can't run. I am weaker in my lower body than my upper. And I'm not in the least bit flexible. My inflexibility might surprise you. My gym teachers were practically disgusted.
So, all this rambling about body image and athletics was running through my head this evening. And so it is for most women. It's not all day or even every day that I think about my body issues. Through my life I've been mostly satisfied with my physicality. Usually, when I think about my body I think about a couple things I want to change (cellulite, saddle bags) and then I focus on things I wouldn't want to change (strong stomach, toned arms, small breasts). The list of things I like far outweighs my dislikes. For this reason, I've always felt I have a healthy body image. Sometimes, though, it does get distorted. It's easy for this to happen in such a media-centric world.

Detox Day 5

2011-01-09T20:55:00.004-05:00

I slept in today, so I started with my coffee later in the morning. I was ready to eat by lunch.
Lunch: Avocado and Tomato Salad: 1/2 tomato and 1/2 avocado; 3 small purple cabbage leaves with diced avocado; 6 oz green juice (frozen juice made with collards, turnip greens, romaine, celery, lemon and who knows what else--Will made it a month ago).
Snack: 10 oz green juice; handful of red pepper slices and baby carrots
Dinner 6:00 PM: Butternut squash soup (vegetarian from a box)
Then I went to get some groceries and came back to overcooked sweet potatoes. I'd forgotten to tell Will to take them out of the oven while I was gone. Oh, well. They were still edible!
Dinner continued: 3 small sweet potatoes with vegan butter and sea salt; a glass of red wine. I waited an hour and then had 3 scrambled eggs with goat cheese. YUM! Another filling and satisfying day. I dropped and broke an egg. Know how I cleaned it up? Baking soda. I sprinkled it on, let it absorb, then swept it up. Voila. No disgusting egg soaked paper towels. I'd read or saw that somewhere years ago and actually had to do it one time before when G was a toddler and pulled eggs out of the fridge. I was more concerned with her touching them because of her allergy and had to wash her hands off right away. I didn't know how sensitive she'd be, but all was fine, including the kitchen floor.

Also today, I started play practice with a community theater that involves people from my parish and the K-12 school. Ages six through adult are involved. It was a fun practice involving singing and some dancing. It'll be a busy two months getting ready, but should be fun. S is in the play, too. She's really the reason I decided to do it and my sister joined as well!

Detox Day 4

2011-01-08T21:00:00.000-05:00

Breakfast: Coffee with stevia and Silk Creamer; Grapefruit with stevia
Lunch: Salad: baby greens, cabbage, soft goat cheese, balsamic vinaigrette dressing
Snack: 10 oz Green lemonade: 5 stalks Celery, 5 kale leaves, 2 cucumbers, 2 lemons
Dinner: 12 oz Green lemonade while I made dinner; Cooked Rainbow Chard (vegan butter, garlic, sea salt); Carrot and Sweet potato soup with soft goat cheese on top
Since I ate dinner early with the kids, I was hungry 3 hours later.
2nd Dinner: Three eggs scrambled with soft goat cheese and one large organic tomato; 1 glass of red wine; a few non-dairy chocolate chips

Looking at this I see that I'm relying on goat cheese to make my meals "more." I'm missing bread, crackers, chips, tortillas! AH! I love it. But, I'm also having filling meals without it. I need to garnish with more vegetables to make plates more interesting.

Detox Day 3

2011-01-07T21:48:00.000-05:00

Yay! We had a snow day today. That gave me extra sleep. Hooray! I had my grapefruit and stevia sweetened coffee this morning. At lunch I had carrots dipped in salsa and a mug of carrot and sweet potato soup. I had a good appetite and found that I ate all but two carrots before the bell rang. I'd brought extra for after school, so it was more than I expected to have the appetite for.

Early this evening I made the green scrambled eggs again. Garlic, onion, purple cabbage and kale with three eggs and goat cheese. Also, I added an avocado and a tomato. Starches (the avocado) aren't supposed to be combined with protein (egg) but I feel like I need the extra food. It's better than doing bread with eggs. Then, an hour later, I was wanting more of the same thing, so I did the quick version of just two eggs and cheese. I was still feeling hungry an hour after that, so I had two celery sticks with goat cheese and a bowl of carrot and sweet potato soup. Oh so yummy! Tomorrow, being Saturday, I plan on having green juice through the morning, salad at lunch and more kale at dinner. Gotta eat it up.

I think to make this program more effective I need to bring more prepared veggies to school. Sometimes I'm hungry late morning when I have a planning period and I'm definitely hungry by 3PM. Carrot sticks and pepper and cucumber slices would be ideal.

Now I'm embarking on the first weekend of my detox. I want to be more strict this first week in avoiding bread, chocolate and alcohol (which I had the first two days) and then add in the best of those things while combining properly. It's easy to eat more while at home. I do better when I'm working. I need to focus on the goal. I just have to do seven days, then I can be more lenient and add more fruits and some chocolate and wine and sprouted grain bread and millet and even cereal! I'd love to eat a bowl of honey nut cheerios right now. With a banana in it. Oooops, not a good combo. Okay, so I won't have that. I'll be going to bed soon, so I've made it to the end of a successful day. One little oopsie in combining this evening, but over all a good day and another step toward a good few days of anti-candida detoxing. Itchiness has died down some, but elimination hasn't been great. So, obviously, I'm not getting rid of waste like I should be. I think it'll be kicking in soon, though.

New Years Resolution

2011-01-07T15:20:00.001-05:00

Just to update, in case you were unaware, my resolution this year is to detox (again!) and to put the focus back on raw foods, green juices and having energy. I have some minor to moderate health concerns including eczema, seborrhea dermatitis (similar to psoriasis), possible systemic candida (not diagnosed, but I have many symptoms of this), and acid reflux. I use medication for all of these issues except the candida. I don’t have a problem taking medicine, but truly, these health problems come from internal inflammation and what I eat. Clean cells do not allow disease and that’s what I want. I’m following Natalia Rose’s book Detox for Women. I’ve followed her guidelines before, but over time much of the program went out the window. After this holiday season of eating lots of goodies and lots of cheese, I decided New Years was a good time to start getting back on track. I joined a gym because I love group exercise classes and that combined with a detoxifying vegetarian diet will get me feeling better. I’m logging my food intake and how I feel each day at my blog. You can also find this post at Momma's Lounge.

Me? A Blackberry user?

2011-01-06T19:54:00.002-05:00

I could be, and so could you by entering to win this giveaway on Healthy Happy Life blog. Check it out. I'd probably join Twitter if I had a phone with Internet. Can you believe I use an old fashioned flip phone that doesn't even have a camera? Lame. At least it's not a green screen model like the one I had two phones before this one. Yes, it's my THIRD PHONE. And the second one didn't need to be replaced until a little kid broke it by pulling the charger out. That was the same kid who could open childproof medicine caps at the age of two.

Detox Day 2

2011-01-06T06:30:00.004-05:00

Thursday 8:30 am
I woke up hungry again. Also, I had terrible restless leg the last two nights. Maybe it's the sulfates in the wine? I'll research that. I brought two frozen jars of green juice with me today and a grapefruit. I haven't had the juice yet. It's defrosting in warm water in the sink. I'm using a little less stevia in my coffee and it's a better taste. I ate my grapefruit with stevia, but I'm not completely full feeling. I'm sipping my coffee and when I finish it I'll drink water until the green juice is ready. As long as I get the juice in my stomach by 10:00 AM I think I'll feel satisfied. Again, I don't feel shaky or week. I just have a slight feeling of hunger in my stomach. Maybe it wants some rye toast like my kids had this morning! Nope. It'll have to wait until this evening. Speaking of this evening, maybe I'll have salad, soup and toast. Good combination there.

2:40 PM
I ended up drinking most of my green juice during a class right before lunch. It really grossed out the kids, which was hilarious. Then I had a mug of carrot and sweet potato soup for lunch. That on top of the juice was enough to fill me up. I'm eating red pepper slices now because I am hungry, but the feeling is different. It's not so painful or nagging. It's more of a legitimate hunger. I've had good energy today. Yesterday I felt more hunger pains, but today I felt lighter and more energized. I think it will only get better. I'm feeling less bloated than I did before yesterday. The last few months I've been feeling bloated much of the time and not, you know, "going" enough. Nothing has really changed in that department, yet. It's too soon. The more green juice I drink, though, the more I'll detoxify. I'm going to continue eating lots of cooked food in the evening to maintain a steady level of detox and not have too much. Too much detox is certainly not a good thing. It can give you congestion, headache, nausea. I haven't had that happen and I don't want to. When I get home today I'm going to have my last banana in a smoothie with blueberry and vanilla almond milk. That'll give me enough energy to fix dinner for the kids and then for myself. It is tough eating differently than the girls. I've always enjoyed eating the same as them, or vice verse, really. Truthfully, though, there will still be nights when we all eat the same. Just not yet. I don't have any grains in the house except whole wheat pasta, which I'm not eating, and a little brown rice, which S doesn't even like. I need to get quinoa and millet.

5:45 PM
Even though I'd had red pepper slices in the afternoon, I was hungry when I got home, so we ate dinner at 4:45. It's not early for the kids because they go to bed at 7 pm and sometimes earlier. I did not have the smoothie. I really wanted bread. I had rye bread, which has no added sugar, with Dijon mustard, a whole avocado and Roma tomato. It hit the spot! Then I had one more slice of bread with vegan butter. An hour later and I'm still full, but I can't stop thinking about food! What do I want? I'm not feeling the satisfaction I did from last night's lovely dinner.

I've been reading Detox for Women and reviewing the principles. I knew bread was not a good option for detox, but baby steps! To do a detox that will get rid of candida I need to eliminate alcohol, fruit (ALL fruit!), chocolate and grains. Boo! It wouldn't be forever, though. I would eventually add all that back in and be sure to combine well. Rose gives three detox options in her book. The first option, the easiest, is called "Baptism by Sunshine" and is to do as much as one can with plenty of room to bend. The second option is "The Systemic Cleanse" and is the strictest to rid the system of yeast. It can be done for one to four weeks. The other option is to follow the basic detox program which does include wine, some fruit, grain and chocolate. Once detox is complete and the body restored to health, then various fruits and grains can be included such as sprouted grain bread and certain cereals. Fish and egg are permitted as well.

I'll continue to do my best avoiding sugar, grain, fruit and alcohol, but I'll probably have it every few days. I may continue to have grapefruit for breakfast. I'm feeling good with that. I plan to get probiotics, too.

8:30 pm
For a snack I had romaine lettuce with Dijon mustard and Goats cheese. Yum. Hit the spot! And it was a good bit after I'd had dinner, so it shouldn't be terrible on my system. Then I had some non-dairy chocolate chips. They have sugar, but I couldn't fight it. I also drank some unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Then, I was satisfied.

Detox Day 1

2011-01-05T20:30:00.001-05:00

Wednesday 10:23 AM.
I am hungry! I woke up hungry this morning; probably because I ate such easily digestible food yesterday evening. I packed a grapefruit, stevia and Silk creamer for breakfast at work. I used the stevia in my coffee and on my grapefruit. There is an aftertaste with it, which is different than sugar in coffee, but it was okay. I just reminded myself that it wasn’t sugar and it was a different cup of coffee than I usually have. I would like to give up coffee completely and end my addiction to caffeine, but I think cutting out the sugar and dairy creamer is the better answer right now.
While my stomach feels hunger pains, I do not feel shaky as I sometimes do when I have bread for breakfast or skip it altogether and just have sugary coffee. I have read that the hunger feeling occurs just because the body is used to eating at that time. If you change the time you eat, you’ll feel the hunger pain. If you eat quicker digesting foods, the same thing happens. My stomach is empty now. I should drink water, but I am in a different classroom at this time and do not have it with me.
I am looking forward to lunch. Usually I feel pretty glum about lunches that I pack because I just throw them together in the morning. Today’s lunch was thought out, though. I have a bowl of my carrot and sweet potato soup I made last night and a small salad. I predict by the end of the school day I will feel hungry again because lunch is a quick exit combination. I need to pick up some sprouted grain bread from Ezekiel brand. Oh boy, that with avocado on it would be delicious!
As you can see, I’m still feeling motivated. I may go to the gym tonight for a weight lifting/toning class. I just need to get the kids early enough to get some dinner into them and a smoothie into me.

Wednesday Lunch 11:30 AM
I am so glad it’s lunch time! However, once I started eating my salad, I tired of it quickly. I should have put goat cheese or avocado in it. I like it creamier. The soup was delicious and even though it was a good size portion, I ate it quickly. I should have brought more for afternoon snack. I did well! I refused a cookie. I haven’t had any sugar today. Now I’m ready for the afternoon.

Wednesday afternoon 2:00 PM
I’m hungry again. It’s those quick exit foods. My stomach is empty and it doesn’t like it. I know I don’t need food, but my belly wants to feel full. I’ve made a cup of green tea sweetened with stevia. I should have just had it unsweetened. The taste is not agreeing with me. I do want to get used to the taste of stevia, so I’m drinking it. I’m also drinking my water. I never finish all the water in my Camelbak water bottle, but I should.
Goals I’ve met so far: No sugar. No dairy. No grain. Raw fruit and vegetables. Cooked vegetables.
My plan for this evening’s food: When I get home I’m going to have a smoothie consisting of a banana, blueberries and vanilla almond milk. Banana is not an approved fruit for the anti-candida four week detox, but I have some at home and I still believe in baby steps. Plus, it will give me good energy for the gym. The girls will have leftover kale and pasta before going to the gym. When we get home I’ll have kale, salad and soup. I may drop by the store for Ezekiel bread so I can have that tonight, too, and some Silk creamer to keep at home.

Wednesday Evening 8:00 PM
I am full! This evening we got home at 4:30. I gave the girls dinner and I drank a smoothie. Then we went to the gym and the grocery store. Giant did not have sprouted grain bread. They had various gluten free breads, but they had sugar in them and I really don't want a bread that just gluten free. I want sprouted grain. So, I got rye bread and if I'm craving bread, then I'll have that in the evening. When we got home I was starving. The girls were hungry, too. They had a little snack while I made my awesome dinner. I basically made what Natalia Rose calls a "Hungry Girl Omlet." I was definitely a hungry girl. I started by sauteing two cloves of garlic and one small onion. Then I added red pepper slices and shredded purple cabbage. I whisked three eggs and poured them over the veggies. It wasn't an omlet, but scrambled eggs. The eggs actually turned green! The bluish purple of the cabbage mixed with the yellow of the eggs is probably what did it. Then I diced an avacado and one roma tomato, put it all on a plate and ate. Oh delicious. I paced myself. I could have scarfed it down, but then I wouldn't have been satisfied. I ate while watching previously aired episodes of How I Met Your Mother. The website kept freezing at first, so that helped me take breaks from eating to try to reload it. I also had two glasses of red wine. Now that I'm finished, I don't crave bread, not really, but I'd told myself that protein and bread do not combine well, so it wasn't an option. I don't crave sweet either. Oh, get this. My poor husband had to stay home sick today and ordered himself pizza. It was in the oven when I got home, but I did not even take a nibble. I guess I hadn't really made it clear to him that I'm detoxing, because he told me it was there. Not that he shouldn't have cheese and pizza in the house. I am very satisfied with today. The class I took today used barbell weights and focuses on toning and building muscle. I'm not sore like I was the first time I took this class two weeks ago. I was so sore it was painful to life my water glass that evening! Today I feel good. I'm going to bed successful and happy.

My greenish eggs.

We're all on a diet

2011-01-05T14:30:00.000-05:00

This morning, over my grapefruit, I read this article from the Baltimore Sun. It’s about how local chefs feed their own children. I relate to many of the stories about picky eaters and bringing “odd” lunches to school. My girls aren’t really picky, but they do cycle through likes and dislikes. One week raisins are a favorite of my five year old. The next week she won’t eat them and boxes come back untouched in her lunchbox. It’s the same for my eight year old. Sometimes she wants grape jelly on her nut butter sandwich and then suddenly she’ll tell us not to put any jelly on it. There’s not an issue with their preferences changing, other than frustrating my husband and I while packing lunches. We don’t like when food comes home spoiled and uneaten. We pay for that food! We want it to go to the use it was intended: nourishing their growing bodies.
The leading chefs of the article pack their children seemingly “odd” food for lunch. For our family, though, there is nothing odd about it. Pureed bean dips, brown rice sushi, red peppers and hummus. It’s all ordinary food for our family. In preschool and kindergarten S did not get comments from other students at school. But in first grade she started getting “ewws!” from neighboring eaters in the cafeteria. She shared these stories with me, probably to feel support for her food preferences, but the other children’s opinions did not deter her from eating her food.
Then one day she said something I found odd. Another student had a salad in her lunchbox and told S that she was on a diet! Okay, I’d read that girls as young as seven were concerned about body image, but I don’t think this child has that issue. I think it just has to do with the stigma salad has as a diet food. She probably saw or heard this somewhere, from TV, parents, or friends, and wanted to feel special about being on a diet. S talked with me about this and I tried to have her understand that people use the word “diet” incorrectly to mean eating to lose weight. It’s really not that at all, I told her, it’s just a word for the way people eat. People can eat many different diets, like a raw diet, a vegetarian diet, a low fat diet, a sugar-free diet, a dairy-free diet, etc. She suggested some of those, so she gets it.
The truth is, I do feel special about my diet and the diet I give my children. It’s not perfect and I’m not an expert on nutrition, but I do read a lot about it and I do my best to give us a varied, nutrient dense diet. The chefs in the article expressed the same feeling. Some also wanted their children to be adventurous eaters. My oldest was an adventurous eater as a toddler. She was a roly poly little girl and one pediatrician, the first time I took my daughters there, told me it would be a good thing when she gets pickier in the preschool stage. I certainly didn’t want my daughter to be picky, but I DID want her to eat good food. She had always readily eaten fruits and whole grains, and when I described her healthy diet, the doctor suggested I give her more raw vegetables, like peppers. So I did. At first S was not a big fan of red peppers, but now they’re her favorite. Any kind of sweet bell pepper, really. That’s when I decided salad consumption would be a goal I had for my kids and kept giving them raw vegetables. It’s worked out for us and neither one really had a “picky stage.”

My Husband's new fave band

2011-01-05T08:00:00.001-05:00

My new Tori

2011-01-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

Regina Spektor - On the Radio Live (Bonnaroo 2010)

Doesn't she resemble a younger Tori Amos here? I love, love, love Tori's music. I have all her studio albums. I think it's time I really get into Spektor's music, though. And I mean more than the occasional song on Pandora.

Four Week Cleanse

2011-01-04T20:09:00.004-05:00

Exercising and eating right go hand in hand. You shouldn't do one without the other. I have found I can NOT do one without the other. We joined the Y when G was 9 months old. After two years I found that I wanted to drastically change my diet and did so. After that it was so easy. I exercised regularly and ate wonderfully. I dropped excess fat, gained extra muscle and was at a good weight for my height and body type. I wasn't excessively skinny, but the weight loss was noticeable to friends and family who'd only known my adult form as carrying a baby or nursing a baby. By the time my second baby was 3 years old I weighed less than I had when I got married, which I did at the age of twenty. (I'm still not certain if my age has been revealed yet. I really need to look this up!) I wasn't my high school weight, but I was certainly my high school size, maybe even leaner. Why wasn't my weight the same as it was in high school? Because of muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat and when I was in high school I did not exercise. I never played sports or did too much outdoors, so I wasn't fit and I wasn't lean and muscular. At all. I was skinny. But it was a soft skinny. Except I was bony. Is that difficult to picture? Oh well.

So anyway. The point I'm making is that when I moved from NC to MD, abandoning my beautiful, wonderful Y and its wonderful instructors (I still miss you gals!), I eventually stopped exercising. As I've said, I tried. I walked/jogged with a jogging stroller. I walked S to school. Will and I went on long walks leaving the girls at home with my parents. But it wasn't the same cardio and toning routine I had been doing and eventually winter came and I stopped. I was teaching and I was busy. And I was TIRED! Sooooo tired. I was more tired than I'd ever been. Commuting by car on the highway is exhausting in itself and much more so with two antsy, hungry, cranky children after a mentally exhausting day of working with teenagers (who are on all sorts of different levels of maturity--BUT I love my job). When I stopped exercising and winter came, my mom noticed there was considerable dust on my juicer and suggested we store it in the garage. Had I not been using it? Nope. Had I stopped eating salad? Yep. It's cold in the winter. Who wants salad? Not me! Don't get me wrong, I was still on the path to vegetarian and got to pescatarian by August '09. I was still eating good stuff like kale and sweet potato and plenty of other cooked vegetables (thanks, Mom!), but I was eating bread for breakfast, drinking sugary coffee (still am) and often eating more than my fair share of sweets. Exercise gone, high raw diet gone.

Without green juice, the high raw diet doesn't work. Without exercises I have no motivation to eat well. Having joined a local gym and having gone to a hand full of group exercise classes, I am once again motivated to fuel my body. I don't have the stamina I did when I left NC. I want it back. My pants are all getting tighter and tighter. Some don't even fit at all. I don't care about the number on the scale. I can see the difference in the mirror and feel it every day when I get dressed. I want to change. I want to go back. No, I want to go forward!

I've already started. I stopped by the grocery store today and picked up my ammunition. I'm gonna blast my cells with clean energy and detoxify them of the crap I've put in. That means green juice and smoothies in the morning, raw nuts or nut butter during the day, salads at lunch and dinner, cooked vegetables in the evening. I'm not perfect at this and today, being the second day back since break, had a difficult time getting up this morning, so I stopped by Dunkin Donuts. I ate a veggie egg white flat bread sandwich. I'm sure there was sucralose in the flat bread and there was cheese on it, or something called pasteurized cheese product, but I don't feel bad about the veggie egg. (Though I can't shake the feeling there probably is something in there I should feel bad about.) So, after the coffee and egg sandwich this morning, I had bean burgendy. It's like boeuf bourguignon, only with beans and vegetable gravy. My mom made it this past weekend and I ate it over egg noodles until today when I didn't have anymore noodles left. Lunch=good. Dinner=EVEN BETTER! First, I got some nice kale sauteing. Then I boiled some whole wheat elbows for the girls. I also put four sweet potatoes in the oven. While all that was going on, I made a big salad for me and left extra chopped/shredded veggies in the fridge for tomorrow. The girls ate dinner while I finished chopping veggies. After I ate my salad, I got soup started and did dishes and then put the girls to bed. I also had a glass of red wine. Yum. Surprisingly I'm not craving beer. Then I sat down to Biography: Christian Bale on Hulu and ate my sweet potatoes. Eating and watching TV is one of my favorite things to do. I know you're not supposed to do it and I can't deny I've overeaten while watching, but I still love to do it. Then I went and fixed up my soup and had a cup, and I mean a small tea cup of soup. It's 8:36 pm, I'm full and I haven't had any bread or other grain since this morning! More on that in a minute.

Here's what was in my salad:
Shredded Purple Cabbage
Red Pepper slices
Organic Baby Greens
One Roma tomato
Four slices of soft goat cheese with chives
Topped with Organic Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing

Here's how I made my soup:
1.5 boxes organic vegetable broth
1 bag of organic baby carrots
Simmered on the stove until the carrots were soft.
Added the cooled and skinned two sweet potatoes.
Added the following spices: dried basil, dried thyme, coriander, cinnamon, curry powder, chili powder, garlic powder and sea salt. I didn't measure, I just sprinkled. I put in a very little bit of cinnamon, but more of the other seasonings.
Then, I blended with an immersion blender. And voila! What a complex flavor in such a simple recipe.

Where did I get the inspiration for such a beautiful soup? Natalia Rose's book Detox For Women. I should have checked her recipe, because it calls for ginger, which I have in the freezer, but forgot about! Oh darn. Hey! That doesn't mean I can't add it after it's cooked. I'll be reheating it on the stove, so no big deal. I'd made her recipe before, so I remember the basic ingredients and just added the spices I know I like and have on hand. I love that I can cook this way now. When I was younger I had know idea what spices worked with other spices, or what I really liked in the way of seasonings. My mom did all the cooking growing up and I had no interest in learning. She recently told me that when I was 19 she asked if I'd like to help her make dinner sometimes to learn some recipes before I got married (remember, I was only twenty when I got married). I replied, "I know how to read a cookbook." What a smart ass I was! Ha! Well, I do know how to read a cookbook and I'm a self-taught cook and baker in many ways, but observing my mom and eating her food also taught me many aspects of cooking from preparing dishes and prep- strategies in small spaces to the best ways to serve food on the table or buffet style and the cleanup. Thanks, Mom. You really did teach by example. I hope I'm doing the same for my kids. S should probably help with preparing dinner, but often I take solace in the kitchen after a day at work. I want to be alone with the food and not talk. As a teacher I explain the same thing over and over again. I just don't want to do any more teaching and explaining when I get home. The summer, though, is the time when I really focus on teaching my kids skills at home.

Back to the bread and grain problem. First of all, bread is like glue in the body. It's not helpful for the digestive system at all. Even whole wheat. It's one of the reasons my pants don't fit well. I'm also really, really tired of something which no one wants to hear about, much less talk about, but I'm going to say it: I have an itchy rump. Rectum, that is. I think it's a yeast problem. Candida thrives on sugar. I want to get rid of it. That means no sugary fruits, no bread, no sugar or sweets. Oh, I just remembered I forgot to pick up some dark chocolate. I think I have chocolate chips in the cupboard. Anyway, I still have coffee in the morning to contend with. I should switch to Stevia until I can give up the coffee altogether. Detox For Women really focuses on helping women flush their bodies of excess yeast. It's certainly a problem in our culture. Acid reflux is one of a long list of symptoms dealing with candida. It never went away when I was high raw, but I still consumed lots of fruits and sugar. (Oh man, it's itching right now just thinking about it! And yes, I talk this way with close family and friends. And you.) So what am I to do about it? I'm trying my very best to follow the four week cleanse Natalia Rose lays out in her book. That's it. Four weeks. I'll take it one day at a time. I can still have berries and grapefruit and I can have eggs when I'm really freakin' hungry and I can have wine and goats cheese. I can do this! By the time spring comes I'll join a CSA and have fresh greens out the wazoo so I'll have to juice, juice, juice. I want to feel GOOD and AWAKE and ALIVE! Oh no, I'm getting really excited. Watch. In two days I'll hate everyone and everything. Ha! Maybe I won't. I'll try not to, at least. I have 1.5 logs of goat cheese in the fridge, grapefruit, frozen berries for smoothies, sweet potatoes, rice noodles for when I'm craving carbs. Now I just have to get me some good chocolate. I even bought unsweetened vanilla almond milk for my smoothies. Oh, I'm set. The way to be successful is to be prepared and I'm there. Now, I've put it out there. I'll update even if I muck up.

I like this song, do you?

2011-01-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

Discovered via WTMD.

FINALS

2011-01-02T19:34:00.003-05:00

Remember how that word made you cringe when you were a student? Maybe it still does. It does for me, but for different reasons than when I was a student. Now, I'm the teacher giving the final and grading the final and making sure I have plenty of time for the final. I don't give final exams in art, not even art history, but I give final projects. Budgeting time and getting through all that I want to is tricky and I'm feeling a little scrunched in photography. I'm not going to let it bother me too much, though, because over all I've spaced projects very well this semester in most classes. I also cringe a bit because I proctor midterms and finals for other teachers. It's a policy at my school, one that I don't believe we had at my HS, that teachers do not give their own midterms or finals. Also, art, music and dance do not give finals (all our classes are semesters, so we don't really have midterms) during exam week, but instead give tests or projects during the last week of class. Projects can be due during exam week, though I always make them due before exams start. Still, last year I had students turn in things late. I'd rather then turn them in than not, but I do take off points for lateness. Final exams are worth 20% of their semester grade, so it's a pretty big deal. Teachers make study guides count toward the exam grade, so that helps students get points for doing it AND makes them prepare for the exam, too.

Here are my final exams this semester:
Photography: Students took landscape color photographs on a field trip and will overlap them to create a collage in the style of David Hockney.
Art History: Students will do a Report page for each of the 8 time periods we studied. On each report page they will have the title of the era, the dates of the era, one paragraph on the culture and art of the time period, a list of artists we studied along with their paintings, a recreation or printed copy of a painting from the period, and a paragraph of how that painting exemplifies the art of the time period. Then they will do a recreation of a painting from any of the time periods. They have the option of doing the report pages on a computer or doing them by hand in their sketch books, which is what I recommend and what most are doing.
Arts and Crafts: Basket Weaving--as straightforward as it sounds.
Introduction to Materials and Techniques: Repousse Masks--This class takes students through the Elements of Art. The last element we have yet to cover is texture. If I'd already covered texture, I would do a final project that combined all the elements of art, but I figured I might as well go with the last element and make it the final. Repousse is a multi-step project and can yield a very nice product, so it's suitable as a final project.

I also supervise an online class that students take, but I am not their teacher, so I don't have to worry about their final other than making sure they do everything they need to do to prepare.

Christmas break has been wonderful. I have gotten so much sleep and relaxed. I've also taken more classes at the gym, watched movies and played games with my girls. I've eaten with family... lots of family and made new recipes from new cookbooks. Will and I got all the decorations put away today so we start a new year clean and organized (mostly!). I helped the girls organize their rooms and their new toys. S got many new accessories for her American Girl doll, named Bella, so we had to put them away nicely. Bella has her own little bedroom area in S's room. G has a Diego and Dora town in her room including Diego's rescue center and Dora's house and barn! It was time for her Little People to go. She's keeping some of the updated sets, where the Little People have arms and legs that move, including a pink castle, a car and camper and tent.

While I'm still four years behind in both girl's scrapbooks, I got a about 7 pages done in G's scrapbook, so I applaud myself for doing that. There were no other projects I really wanted to tackle, other than maybe getting a jump start on planning for next semester, but I also gave myself the option of not doing that, so I didn't! I did watch TV and movies and just chilled. It was really nice.

The next few months I'll be busy. S and I are doing the musical at our school/parish community theatre, along with my sister. It should be lots of fun. Neither my sister or I have done musical since high school, though my sister did perform musically in college. She's a music teacher. S is excited to finally be in a play. She wishes she were a child actor, but she realizes we don't have enough money for such a thing (her words.) Both girls will be playing indoor soccer for the next couple months and then spring soccer. So Saturday mornings are basically scheduled (for the rest of my life--with small breaks, maybe). Play practice will be Sunday afternoons and maybe during the week at times. And I'll be fitting the gym in there whenever possible, like tomorrow evening! Yay step class!

Here's to a busy and productive 2011!

Got Cake?

2011-01-01T20:00:00.000-05:00

I want to share a few songs. I'm starting with an old favorite band of mine. I love Cake, especially the twangy, sappy stuff, which is odd since I don't like Country music. I also love the harder, darker Cake songs. This song, a cover, is great to rock out to. You know, in the living room, with two little girls jumping around throwing up devil horns? No? You have a different idea of "rock out?" Eh. Too bad for you.

This song was discovered via WTMD.

Happy '11

2011-01-01T00:33:00.000-05:00

New Year's Survey
1. How did you ring in the new year for 2010?
Will and I were living at my parents and stayed up with them. I watched TV with mom and dad. Will played video games until it got close to midnight, then we toasted.

2. Who did you kiss at midnight 2010?
Will, of course.

3. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?
Went to a high school graduation of kids that I'd taught!

4. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I did not make a resolution last year. I feel like my birthday is a better more motivated time for making life changes. I just try to make it through the winter.

5. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes, but I haven't spoken to that person since then and she lives far away and it makes me sad.

6. Did anyone close to you die?
No, but a student from my school did and that was incredibly sad for the community.

7. What countries did you visit?
Never left the states.

8. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
More energy. and a chiropractor.

9. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
March 27--sister and BIL's wedding--woohoo!
May--moved--first home completely on our own
July--Shared birthday with daughter who no longer wants to share it with me!

10. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Started teaching in a delicate situation, but made the absolute best of it and ended the school year successfully.

11. What was your biggest failure?
Any time I was impatient with my kids and husband.

12. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Seasonal affective disorder got bad enough to require medication

13. What was the best thing you bought?
very comfy jeans from the thrift store

14. Whose events required celebration?
Weddings, birthdays, Christmas

15. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Homophobes

16. Where did most of your money go?
Living expenses.

17. What did you get really, really, really excited about?:
My house!

18. What song will always remind you of 2010?
Anything Regina Spektor... on the radio uh oh!

Are you:
a) Happier or sadder?
Happier!

b) Thinner or fatter?
Fatter... that's what carbs and 1.5 years away from the gym will do

c) Richer or poorer?
Richer in the most important way: financially. Just kidding. It's great living near family again!

19. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Playing games with my kids.

20. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Bitching

21. Did you fall in love in 2010?
Yes, with a school.

22. How many one-night stands?
Looks like this is geared to the young and the single (or swingers of any age).

23. How many people did you kiss?
Oh gosh, three people daily, a few others on occasion.

24. What was your favourite TV program?
The Office, Parks and Rec, Community

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?:
No, I don't hate anyone. Period.

26. What was the best book you read?
The Time Traveler's Wife

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Yeah, I don't really have time for that these days. But I did listen to a lot of Pandora, and thumbs- upped every Regina Spektor I heard.

28. What did you want and get?
A row-house with hard wood floors, a finished basement, three bedrooms and 1.5 baths! YAY!

29. What did you want and not get?
To join a pool.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
Eh, I watch so many movies through Netflix, but don't really follow the movies of the year.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I believe my age on here is anonymous. Don't want to give too many clues, you know. But, I had all family over for my birthday because it's also my youngest daughter's birthday and she turned 5. I turned a very nice age. Have I said it in this blog? I'll have to do a search.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Wow, I'm extremely satisfied with the past year.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Wear jeans as often as possible and be comfortable even if in slacks.

34. What kept you sane?
In all seriously, I lost my shit last winter. So, Zoloft. Zoloft kept me sane. This year I'm hoping exercise keeps me even more sane.

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Michele and Barack Obama

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Obamacare... I want it soooo bad!

37. Who do you miss?
My grandmother. My babies as actual babies.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Hm, having moved in '09, I met more new people that year. But, I love meeting new students.

39. Who were your closest friends in 2010?
Hubby, sister, mother.

40. What are you doing to ring in 2011?
Hanging at home with my family. Then New Year's day at my parents.

41. Who do you plan on kissing to ring in 2011?
Will and any child still awake. Heck, even if they aren't awake, they're gettin' kissed! Ha!

42. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010:
DON'T TAKE IT PERSONALLY!

Step this way

2010-12-30T20:23:00.003-05:00

We recently joined a local gym. Will uses the cardio equipment and I do classes. I love Step class and have done a couple other classes, all of which have left me very sore! However, it's great to be working out again after 1.5 years without a gym membership. During our stay at my parent's I tried to exercise, to take walks and play outside with the kids, but then it got harder and harder to stay motivated and winter came and I was done. Life got busy and stressful with a new teaching position for me, commuting to and from school with the girls and planning a move into our own home. Now, seven months later, we are living in an easier routine, living close to school, and loving our own home. And it was high time for a gym membership.

Yesterday I was taking a step class and was having difficulty with some steps I hadn't done and one or two that I had, but had either heard them called something different, or just had forgotten the terms, when I realized exactly WHY it was difficult to follow the instructor. At first I thought it was because I was to the right side of the room and really had to turn my head to see her. Then I realized that I'd been mimicking the woman to my left and slightly in front of me and not having any difficulty doing that and THAT is when I saw it: The instructor was FACING US! OMG! That's why I'm all confused as to what side of the step we're on and which way to walk around the step, which I never found that difficult when I did it regularly. In NC at the YMCA, the instructors faced the mirror, same as the participants. We could see the instructor move exactly as we were and the way he/she looked in the mirror was how we should look. What is this weirdness with the instructor facing us? Granted, they do mirror our movements, starting with their right when we're to use our left. That must be difficult to say LEFT when you're going right.

Oh well, I'll improve. One of the things I like about Step is that it's mentally challenging, which really distracts you from the physical challenges. I'll keep going and learn the new moves and get stronger.

On Journaling

2010-12-27T21:01:00.006-05:00

My sister gave me a journal for Christmas. I used to journal a lot, but since I started blogging, I've given up the written journal. While blogging helps put things in perspective, I am guarded in this format. When I journal, it's just for me. I rarely look back through journals. In fact, I have a bunch packed in a box in my closet.
I started journaling when I was 10, the summer after fifth grade. I think I filled the whole journal. I decided at that age I would not have a diary because it was too cliche and girly. I thought journal sounded more sensible. I even wrote "Dear Journal" along with the date of every entry. I have always dated entries. Sometimes, if there is time lapse between entries, I give updates that are relevant to the story as if my writing will one day have a reader. Truthfully, I want it to, even though I know it reveals my darkest thinking.
At times I probably held back, but most of the time I wrote as I thought, dirty words and all. My photography professor told us that she journaled and kept them all, but that if anyone should read them in the future after she dies they will think her life was terrible because she mostly wrote when she was depressed or upset about something. I totally get that. Getting it down on paper is a way of getting it OUT of my brain so I can have peace. Logically I still know about my issue, but after I journal it I can let it go and often find a solution.
"What's the worst that can happen?" is a strategy my mom taught me. I don't think she realized she was imparting such wisdom. I know she wanted to help me, but she also wanted me to calm down so we could both get some much needed sleep. I was upset about not finishing a school assignment and I was crying before bed and exhausted and mom said, "What's the worst that can happen? Will someone die? Will you die?" There was more, but that's the basic gist of the game. Then you calm down and think about the actual worst thing that can happen and how you can deal with it should that be the result. That is the basis of my journaling.
I plan. I record. I list. I complain. I exclaim.
Not all entries were downers. With having a husband and kids come overwhelming feelings of love. I've written about the good and my love for my family. I journaled consistently until I had G 5.5 years ago. I even journaled while I was in the hospital on bed rest before having her prematurely. After her birth I did very little journaling. I only journaled when necessary to help myself cope with things. I have a journal from her early years that is very sparse. I was very caught up in taking care of two young children, then going back to school, then finding a job and well, now I'm here.
And I have a new journal. It's a pretty red journal with a motif of leaves and birds on the cover. I've tried to do gratitude journaling, but I've never gotten into a routine. Not that it doesn't help, but I find it better to be more flexible with my journaling. Recently I've been craving the act of emptying my head before bed. Sometimes just writing things down helps me remember. I hate thinking of something I should do the next day right before drifting off to sleep. If I journal before bed, I think of those things and write them. I have the option of referring to my entry the next morning, but usually just writing it before bed helps me remember it the next day.
As much as I love typing, which I do very quickly, I really enjoy writing. I love feeling the pen flow across the paper in cursive style.
I intend on going through my journals one day. I know there is one journal in particular that I want to destroy because I was waaayy too free in what I shared and, well, if my kids want to keep my records in the future I'd rather them not know every gritty detail. My hopes and fears, yes. So, I will keep them. For what it's worth, they are a record of my life.

Salad is possible

2010-12-20T21:37:00.000-05:00

I'm still mulling over Fed Up With Lunch blog and read this post about bringing salad in for students to assemble and eat. It makes me think about my own kids and kids of others I've witnessed eating, or not eating as that case is often. One of my mom goals was to have my children eat salad without complaint. Well, they love baby spinach, which G just calls lettuce. She likes any kind of lettuce, unless it's bitter. She'll eat romaine lettuce leaves plain, on a sandwich, or with nut butter. I got her palate adjusted to green juice at the young age of 3 years old. S was already 5.5 when I started juicing and still isn't too keen on it. But, I have served salad, raw veggies and a variety of dips since they had enough teeth to eat it... basically starting at 2 years old. I've had friends kids over who ate salad without complaint, or minimal at first. In fact, the younger they are, the more willing I've found kids to try new things. One thing, though, parents and caregivers need to remember, is that when kids 1-3 years old and even beyond that, try new foods, they need to be allowed to spit them out if their tastes reject it. Forcing a child to swallow food he/she is having a very negative response to will only make it more difficult to encourage the child to try new foods.

I implemented the "no-thank-you-bite," which my kids almost always swallow (G has been known to run to the trashcan a spit once or twice). If they don't like it, they just say no thank you, make a face like what's in their mouth is horrible and shake their head "no." Okay, I tell them, maybe you'll like it when you get over. It doesn't stop me from making that food again or offering it for another "no-thank-you-bite" another evening.

Often my kids' taste preferences change from month to month and week to week. One week G doesn't want more than two bite of sweet potato and the next week she eats a half of one. The girls keep trying parsnips and are adjusting to the taste, though not really liking it, yet. S likes carrots raw and shredded, but cooked--no way.

Kids also get tired of foods if they're given them over and over again. Now, there are children who thrive on regularity and request the same foods over and over without fail and without ever tiring of them. That happens. Adults can be like that, too. But children, like adults, can desire variety. One week G wants no other jelly but raspberry on her nut butter sandwich. The next week she doesn't like raspberry and wants it plain. S gets tired of nut butter sandwiches and misses the days of deli meat, so we switch it up with vegan bologna sandwiches.

Cheese. Oh the pickyness with cheese. For one thing, dairy doesn't agree with any of us, but everyone but G has it from time to time. S likes it sliced with crackers or apple. She likes provolone on a sandwich. But, melted cheddar grosses her out. She tries to tolerate it because she's used to eating what is for dinner, but she really can't take much of it. She prefers mozzarella pizza to any Mexican-style food with cheddar.

I think I set a pretty decent food example for my kiddos. We don't use food to award, but we do consider sweets and dinner out to be treats that are to be appreciated and not expected. I can't put my finger on exactly how my kids have grown to eat salad, but they do. Asian Miracle dressing from Vegan Lunchbox certainly played a part for G as does organic Ranch for S (regular Ranch has MSG in it and it bothers her skin, not to mention kills brain cells--which I will leave up to her to make the decision if, when and how to kill brain cells). I'm not saying you're doing everything or anything wrong if your kids won't touch anything green. I'm just saying to keep trying and eat what they eat. If you serve kids something that you wouldn't want to eat, what does that say to your kids (uh, exactly the point of Fed Up With School Lunch!)? When I sit down to dinner with my kids and my plate matches theirs, it helps them to eat it. And what's for dinner is for dinner. As I tell my kids, I don't make bad food. If I did I'd understand you're not wanting to eat it and wouldn't expect anyone to eat it. But I make really good food. Tasty, not too spicy, flavorful, whole, fresh food. Healthy food for mind and body. Healthy for digestion. Healthy for immunity and energy.

Back to Mrs. Q (FUWSL blogger) who says her health is fine; and as far as I know stands by that now having just finished the project. But I haven't read about a recent blood test, which I would bet differs from the one she had just before starting the project. I don't care that she eats whole foods the other two meals of the day. When you're sick with the runs in the middle of the night because of school pizza, that is not healthy. Think of all the good flora that got flushed out and how that weakened her immune system. The digestive tract is so important for human health. It is how we get nutrients and how we fight viruses and how we detox anything bad out of our systems. I hope she publishes if her blood work results changed. Maybe a slight rise in bad cholesterol or a slightly elevated blood pressure... something small.

Balancing out bad with good foods does help. I think that my grandfather's high tomato, fruit and tea consumption helped him live as long as he has (88 Dec. 24th) but the bad food (i.e. meat and dairy) has made his body frail and stiff for the last 10 years. Not how I want to live my last 10+ years. Not even how I want to live my last 5 years or 1 year. I want to move till the end. I want to be in a body that helps me, not hurts me. I pray for good health and I do the best I can to achieve it. I'm far from perfect and never will be. I'll always "cheat," but in the end the green juice craving comes back and a crunchy apple sounds like the perfect snack.

School Lunch Blogger

2010-12-16T19:45:00.003-05:00

My husband found me a new blog. The only bad thing: it may be ending soon! It's like Green and Crunchy all over again (that blog is even deleted). Fed Up With Lunch is a blog by a teacher who ate school lunch every day for a calendar year. My husband heard about it on the radio or saw an article or something and asked if I'd seen or heard of the blog, because I do love my food blogs! I hadn't heard of this blog, so I googled and found it instantly. It's had quite the following. Recently the blog was featured on MSNBC. I've read a hand full of posts and the project is coming to an end. I hope she keeps blogging, especially about the transition from processed foods to fresh, whole foods. She had a dairy/gluten free son, so I expect she'll try to eat well after the project and maybe share what she packs for lunch. I am curious as to whether she'll notice her taste buds change after she changes her eating and if she'll struggle with cravings for sugar and fat. I know I did, and still do, sometimes. I fight it off with a cheesy omelet or pizza and then get back to vegan foods. Anyway, the thing I find MOST interesting is the packaging the food comes in. Everything hot comes in individual containers with plastic wrap to peel off. YUCK! Think about all the nasty carcinogens that are in the food just from the packaging and heating process. I'm going to explore this blog some more. Check it out!

Running Wilde

2010-12-10T21:01:00.000-05:00

The child is cute, Felicity is grown up and Job is basically still Job with a new name. Don't know what I'm talking about? Check out one of the best, smartest, funniest, wittiest shows ever on television: Arrested Development. Netflix it or go buy it! It ran for three seasons. Running Wilde, while having some actors and characteristics of Arrested Development, has not been a successful show. I've been watching it on Hulu and heard it's been cancelled. It's just as well. I can only watch one episode at a time.

Food Blog Winter 2010: Skip the mayo Salmon Cakes

2010-12-05T14:31:00.004-05:00

My second self-designed recipe. I took the idea of using chickpeas from one of my favorites: fallafel. Because G cannot have egg or dairy, I use egg replacer and the chickpeas substitute for mayonnaise which most people use. (Yes, this means, from time to time I eat salmon.)

10oz of skinless and boneless cooked salmon (I recommend Bumble bee Premium Wild Pink Salmon in 5 oz pouches)
1 can Chickpeas, rinsed
1/4 cup fresh parsley or cilantro, whichever you prefer.
Sprinkle to taste: Cumin, Chili powder, sea salt, pepper, Coriander, garlic powder--experiment with seasonings you like
1-2 eggs or egg replacer
Optional: diced onion

In food processor, blend chickpeas and fresh herbs with eggs and seasonings.
Put the salmon in a bowl and add the blended chickpea mixture to the salmon and mix well.
Heat olive oil in a skillet.
Form mixture into salmon cakes/burgers and place in skillet. Brown on both sides and serve over salad or as a sandwich.

Siblings Wed

2010-11-26T22:29:00.002-05:00

I'm using my time off for something really productive and gratifying: watching Season 1 of Dexter. It's a series I've been wanting to watch. At about the 5th episode I think, why don't Dexter and his sister just get together, they obviously have a connection. I rationalize this because Dexter is adopted. Then I'm wondering if I've seen the actress who plays Dexter's sister in anything else and I google the info on the actors of the series and lo and behold, Michael C. Hall, who plays Dexter, and Jennifer Carpenter, who plays his sister, are married. Ha! I saw the chemistry! This is like Peter and Marsha.

Giving Thanks

2010-11-25T22:10:00.007-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! It was a delicious dinner during which I ate and ate and then ate some more. I never stuff myself these days, but this Thanksgiving I enjoyed it all! (Except the turkey, of course.) Over at Healthy Happy Life I used two recipes: Butternut stuffing and Cashew Cream cheese Pumpkin Pie. Blogger, Kathy, even posted pics of my two pies I made. G, 5, LOVED the pie, especially the creamy center which she referred to as "icing." The consistency is like a whipped pumpkin pie. Very yummy. The stuffing was my favorite. I have always loved stuffing, but this year's stuffing was so very good. Instead of butternut squash, I used some canned pumpkin. The recipe also used fresh tangerine juice and tangerine extract (I used orange extract) and it was SO GOOD! I made vegan gravy with which my husband was very impressed. I'd made it before, but

he always stuck with the real thing. This evening he

didn't realize he'd poured on the vegan version, so he was stuck with it. Really, Thanksgiving dinner was a great meal. I'm thankful to have enjoyed such an abundance and a great family to share it with.

Also, this guy to the right? That's Jack Johnson, but if you had come to my house for dinner and if you were maybe drunk, you'd have thought he was there because my brother looks so much like him it's crazy. I wonder what Jack Johnson ate for Thanksgiving dinner. Fish?

I believe the caption for this photo is a quote from Johnson: "No, for the last time, I'm not Lauren M's brother. Now, leave me alone."

If only...

2010-11-24T12:11:00.004-05:00

Recently I've been hearing a lot of "if only" concerning vegetarian/veganism. For example, "If I had a vegan chef like Ellen, I could be vegan," or "If I cooked as well as my friend does, I could be vegan." You never hear, "If I could cook better, I'd eat more meat," or "I'd choose more pizza and gravy fries if I had a chef to make them for me." Cooking is a learned art whether you use animal products or not. These statements of "if only" do not make sense to me. The only one that does make sense, is "I'd eat less processed food if I a) had someone to cook for me or b) could cook better or c) actually enjoyed cooking." Processed food makes eating SO easy for Americans. Fast food, prepacked, frozen, however you look at it, processed food is ready to eat with no knowledge of cooking required.

I've read the same thing with other vegans: Dropping the animal products freed me in the kitchen. When the focus became the plant food and grains, I wanted to know more. I actually started reading cookbooks for FUN. I wanted more information. I experimented. I piggybacked off recipes and created my own! I want tasty food and I don't want to be cooking for an extended time, so I find recipes and foods that fit my desires. Most have been very successful in satisfying myself and my kids.

Here's my "if only": If only my whole family could forgo the bird and bird gravy, it'd be a better Thanksgiving dinner. Well, they're not there. They want their turkey. And hence, my kids will want their turkey as well. They know about Factory Farming and the horrors the birds undergo. No, I haven't shown them anything incredibly explicit and not for a couple weeks and I have no plans to bring it up again before tomorrow's feast. As most parents know, kids need choices and mine have the freedom to choose animal flesh away from home. At home, there's not that choice, but knowing they have it elsewhere is still freeing for them. I hope one day they'll feel freedom from eating flesh foods, but until then, they'll get to partake in a very American tradition of eating Benjamin Franklin's "if only," the turkey.

Cold War Kids - Hospital Beds

2010-11-17T20:23:00.000-05:00

This group has some amazing songs and videos. I love the storytelling quality of their songs and how they apply it to their videos. The imagery is amazing. Check out: Hang Me Up To Dry. It has a film quality.

Green cookies?

2010-11-08T21:26:00.003-05:00

I made Dreena's Peanut Better Cookies recently, but used Sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter. Guess what happened. They are green inside! It's not noticeable on the outside, but inside the crumbly, yummy texture is a green hue. My mom noticed it and asked if I'd put spinach in the cookies. She certainly wouldn't put it past me to do something like that, but I did not (this time). We all (Dreena included) think it's probably something reacting with the sunflower seed butter. My sister has made the exact same cookies using the exact same substitutions I did and didn't have that happen. Whatever, they are still delicious and I highly recommend the recipe with ANY type of nut butter. I also added non-dairy chocolate chips this time which is an unbelievable combination... well, maybe not unbelievable, but way better than any Reece's Peanut Butter cup. Sorry no picture. I'm too lazy! haha I am tired. It's only Monday and it was a pretty good Monday, but Will and I did extra cleaning that I don't normally do on a school night. We wanted to change our family room around because we're getting a new TV tomorrow and wanted to separate the TV area from the girl's play area. That meant moving furniture and vacuuming, so, yeah, I'm pretty tired. I could go for a cookie, though! If only I hadn't already brushed my teeth!

Chick-fil-a cows may not know how to spell, but now they have super powers

2010-10-30T17:17:00.004-04:00

When people find out I'm vegetarian the first thing they ask me is, "Are your kids vegetarian?" Then, "Is your husband vegetarian?" Here's the state of things: I only cook vegetarian at home... mostly vegan. All my baking is vegan. Occasionally I consume things at home or away from home that have dairy or egg, but I'm always vegetarian. The girls are permitted to choose to eat meat away from home. Usually I encourage them to avoid beef in restaurants, but when we go out with grandparents, I let it go. My husband is mostly pesco-vegetarian, but also consumes other animal flesh away from home. I am open and frank with my children about the health benefits of eating vegan and about the raising and processing of animals and animal products.

The Veg Blog explains more about the various types of vegetarianism and confusions surrounding the diet.

Speaking of confusion, have you seen the Chick-fil-a comics? Okay, okay, being a working mom is terribly tiring and this school year I have the additional after-school teaching two days a week and it's led to some frequenting of Chick-fil a. Anyway, their new comics feature cow superheros. They have super powers, of course and their goal is to save fellow cows from being slaughtered and eaten in the form of steak, burgers and hotdogs. In one comic about deciBell, who has a very loud moo, everyone in a town is hypnotized to want to eat nothing but beef. One scene shows a man being offered a steak. He responds, "Uh, no thanks, I'm a vegetarian." But then, he's hypnotized. Oh, I forgot to mention a man uses a magic lasso to hypnotize people. Is that some jab at Texans or cowboys? Anyhow, in the end deciBell blasts everyone out of their brainwashed state and the king pin behind the hypnotizing of the town is himself hypnotized to want to eat chicken. Not surprised by the ending as that is the point of all the comics. I was surprised by the mention of the vegetarian. It was basically unnecessary to the story and could confuse people to think vegetarians eat poultry.

One day I'll look back and remember the old days when we supported Chick-fil-a. Until then, it's the lesser of many evils. I also like to go to Arby's where I can get a killer vegetarian sandwich. I think they feel so sorry for me not having the turkey they really load it up with extra vegetables.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

2010-10-27T20:42:00.006-04:00

Today I cried. I was very tired, I was dealing with stupid insurance bureaucracy and not getting in touch with anyone, I was POed with a computer system and whoever didn't FIX it at the insurance company, I have a cold and had to drive in a terrible storm. So, when I was parked, I called Will and I cried. "I never get enough sleep, even if I do I have no energy, I hate the dark, I hate getting up in the dark, I miss the sun, I hate being sick, I have to much too do."

Flash forward. I picked up my 7 year old from dance practice. She immediately gives me terrible attitude. I'm driving the girl's home and they are being terrible. They are bickering about every little thing they can think of... that's not fair... nuh uh... yes huh.... blah blah blah. I pulled into a parking lot, turned around and threatened them with groundings, time outs, smacks across the face... this led to giggles because they know my bluff. I was losing my voice and couldn't take it, so I got Will on the phone and had him speak to each of them. The 7 year old, S, started crying. She felt so guilty. Then she told me everything I'd told Will earlier... everything and more. "I have too much homework, I never get enough sleep, I'm always tired, I have soccer every weekend, the dance recital is tomorrow and I'm hungry!" My poor, poor baby. We are in the same boat. We like to be at home, we like to have time to relax and do only what we choose, however, we are more productive when there is a schedule. But then there's a fine line between happily involved and over-involved.

I love teaching, but when I feel tired and unwell, I'd rather be home, maybe getting some laundry done!

Oh well, colds come and go. This week will end, S will enjoy her soccer game however early it is (8 am and we have to work concession wah!) and I will find some time for myself in the coming weekend. Heck, I just took some time to myself this evening and watched a show on Hulu and typed this. And thanks to some cold meds, I'm feeling better already.

Additionally, I'd like to address the dairy issue. I've been doing well, but not completely successful. Basically I am more conscious of it in my food and have made strides to choose differently. For instance, I take vanilla almond milk to school with me to have in my coffee instead of creamer. But then I had mac n cheese at my parents last weekend. So, the process continues. Truthfully, I haven't quite nixed the fish yet. Every other month Will makes salmon cakes and I chow down like I haven't eaten all day, even when I have! They are so good. Right now it's something good I'm doing for my body and my psyche because I'm not including other healthy fats regularly (like flax seed and flax seed oil and avocado). It's all about balance and it's all about feeling good. Obviously, I'm not feeling my best right now with a cold and with the change of seasons. I started taking Zoloft last... spring, I think. Early spring, maybe late winter... like March. So this is my first fall going in taking it daily. And maybe it's not enough. I don't want to increase the dosage, because does that just continue? I need to get back to my doctor and talk about this. It's not terrible to cry every so often, especially when literally sick and tired. I don't have any feelings of anxiety or overwhelming hopelessness like I did when I started taking it, but I definitely need to monitor how I'm feeling and get on top of it if I feel myself slipping. I want to enjoy each day, not dread them.

Bye, bye dairy

2010-10-11T11:18:00.002-04:00

If my daughter can go through life not ingesting dairy, I can do it, too. I gave it up once for her and it ended up being awesome for me, too. For the past few years not drinking milk has been enough of a change for my body that I've seen improvements. However, when I ingest cheese I see and feel the side effects. I get phlegm in my throat and reflux over night (and that's on Prevacid daily). I highly enjoy cheese and eating dairy makes eating out vegetarian-style super easy. I'm not looking for a challenge, but I am looking to heal my body. Here's the state of things: I have adult acne that flares up from time to time; I have reflux that has improved with the vegetarian diet, but still requires daily medication and sometimes still breaks through over night; I have atopic dermatitis, also known as eczema, which has recently flared up on my finger tips and can be painful; and I have seborrhea dermatitis on my scalp--this isn't just dandruff, it's itchy, scaly skin much like eczema--and while it is somewhat diminished with medicated foam, it flares up terribly sometimes. Right now ALL of it is flaring and I can't take it anymore! I KNOW these are not symptoms to be covered up with creams and pills, they are signs that my insides are not happy, that there is inflammation inside my body that is showing itself on the outside as well. I know what I have to do. I have to cut out dairy and be completely vegan and I need to eat alkalizing foods to clear my acidic system. It's time for another book! Oh how I love getting new books to read and this is one I've been needing to get for a long time. I have three to choose from: The pH Miracle, The Ultimate pH Solution, The Acid-Alkaline Diet. Basically, I'll just see what my library has and go from there. I mark today, October 11th, the day I move my body forward into better health by finally, FINALLY, going vegan. I KNOW I CAN DO IT!

Three things to say

2010-10-09T17:41:00.005-04:00

Today I did something I've always wanted to do: Teach a class at a library! Woohoo! I work for Young Rembrandts, which is a national drawing program for kids preschool through eigth grade. I teach after school lessons two days a week at my kid's school and now I get to teach Saturday library classes when they are in my area. I had eleven kids and two moms participate today. They were between second and ninth grade and we did a cartoon. They all did very well and were wonderful, respectful students. It's nice, because all of them were legitimately interested in drawing and enjoy drawing, so they paid attention well. I had a lot of fun and am looking forward to doing it next Saturday as well with a different lesson.

The girls are with my sister today, so neither came to the drawing lesson. My sister and her husband took them to a pumpkin farm where they could do a hay ride and a corn maze. They are keeping them over night so Will and I can go out with friends of ours! Woohoo! (Can you tell I'm in a good mood today?) Anyway, we'll be dining out later this evening and then we get to....wait for it..... drum roll.... SLEEP IN!!!!! Seriously. We have early morning soccer every Saturday, so Sunday is the only day we get to sleep in and then it's only till 8am because we have church at 10 and the girls still get up by 6:30 anyway. But not tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a most wonderful morning of sleep ahhhhh.... I'm almost looking forward to that as much as I am looking forward to going out. Ha! I'm sure other parents feel me. Hm. Can I pull that off? The teenagers I work with put these phrases in my head and well, they come out sometimes, but it sounds weird, dude.

Alright, man, to wrap up this post, I have one more thing to say: I Heart boobies is an annoying campaign and I can't stand it. If breast cancer and any other type of cancer awareness actually wanted people to survive and heal they'd put out information on eating a plant-based diet. Wake-up, America! Milk and rare steak are food for cancer cells, not healthy cells.

And that is all.

Busy bee

2010-09-29T20:11:00.002-04:00

We are very very very busy and I have no interest in blogging right now. Fun stuff scheduled for the future, so it may lead to some blogging. Until then... enjoy the fall!

Harvest Moon

2010-09-22T21:43:00.002-04:00

On this night of the Harvest Moon I am quite sure everything has changed. The optimism of a wonderful new school year. The hope that my energy would remain high and my food consumption good to allow high energy. Things are not always as I wish. This, the third week of school has been the week in which I realize I need to remember the following slogan: "Don't take it personally!" I can remain optimistic and continue to have high expectations of my students and myself. I can make good food choices and sometimes I will make poor food choices (and not really care all that much). However, I cannot change how people behave. I need to remember my mantra and not let it affect me. Unfortunately, I let it affect me the last couple days and have felt this slight pressure of stress pushing down on me. If I don't shake it off it will only get worse. Simply in saying this I am de-stressing. Life has many unbloggable events and the details of work stress is one of them. Still, I can honestly say, I love my job. I love teaching art, working with student artists, exploring art history. The grading.... eh, not the best part of the job, but a necessary one. The actual teaching and guiding and interaction with students is the part that is worth it.

Now I'm Super Charged!

2010-09-12T15:36:00.006-04:00

Last night the kids had the stomach flu. No, that's not why I'm super charged. This is just where my story begins. At 7:30 pm they were put to bed, then S said she was sick. G fell asleep, but S WAS sick. So I cleaned up what needed cleaning up and got her a bucket and she fell asleep without being sick again. Around 10:30 I checked on G because I was getting ready for bed, and turns out she'd been sick, but hadn't actually woken up enough to realize it and was back asleep. She didn't believe she'd thrown up and professed that it was our cat who'd done it. That was funny. Will got her cleaned up while I cleaned up her bed and floor. Blech. Fortunately, I have not gotten sick and I keep praying I won't. I hate stomach flu more than anyone. I just want to die when I'm sick like that. Colds I can handle, but not stomach illness.

Anyway, both girls woke up feeling awesome! And hungry. I gave them half a toast and watered down apple juice and made them wait for an hour before eating anything else. They were fine and had Irish Oatmeal, which they loved and then lunch as normal. However, S is having a sore tummy again this afternoon. :( Poor girl. Hopefully she won't be sick again and will wake up tomorrow feeling better.

Now that I got you thinking about all that nasty sickness, let me tell you about these amazing cookies I made today! Ha! I followed Dreena's recipe for Super Charge Me! Cookies. I only had enough maple syrup for one batch, but I really wanted to make a double batch, so I added 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1 1/2 tbsp of apple sauce to give it added moisture. They turned out great! I also made half the batch without cinnamon since it bother's S's skin and then added cinnamon and made the rest. I'd forgotten how wonderful cinnamon is in cookies, especially those that contain oatmeal such as these. Whenever cinnamon is called for I generally just skip it for S. Either way these cookies were great. I used cashew butter where it called for almond butter. So so tasty! And they are certainly filling. I made mine small, so I ate three dipped in almond milk. Oh life is wonderful!

After they cooled I packed a bunch of baggies with three cookies each for lunches and snacks this week. I also prepared snack baggies of pretzels and Newman's Os (like oreos, but dairy free). We are set for a VERY busy week! I'm teaching two after school art classes for elementary schoolers, S starts after school chorus and both girls start after school dance. Thank goodness for after care. If something happens with one of the programs and it's canceled or if I'm not there in time to get them at the end of it, they go right to after care. I didn't use it as much last year because G was at a different school in day care, but now with both girls at my school (it's K-12), it's nice to just have them both in the same location for pick up. Also, I can take the time after school to clean up my classroom and make notes for myself for things to remember in the morning.

Here is our dinner: Dreena's Chickpea burgers made with crushed pretzels in place of quick oats (the cookies used the rest!) and asparagus. And yes, that is indeed a paper plate. Sometimes we've had just about all the dishes we can stand, since our hands are our dishwasher. The burger had fresh basil and was delicious! I wanted to eat a second one, but I was too full after I ate this plate. There are still four left, so I'll have them for dinner tomorrow.

Here's to a wonderful week!

Food Blog: Two-weeks 'till fall 2010 Edition

2010-09-11T17:41:00.004-04:00

Spinach Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms! I've been wanting to make these for a while and I finally had almost all ingredients on hand. I was missing fresh italian parsley, but I just did without. I used basil from my backyard crazy basil plant. I have no idea what type of basil it is. Its seeds were given as a wedding favor this summer and it took off! It's leaves are large with jagged edges. A friend tasted it and said it had a licorice flavor. I think it's delicious fresh with tomato or cooked with pasta or mixed with white beans for a dip. It was nice in the stuffed mushrooms. My kids don't care for portabello mushrooms, except G who will eat them if they are cut in tiny pieces in stir fry, so I just gave them the filling which included spinach, red bell pepper, garlic, basil and homemade croutons. A little soy sauce and olive oil combined with the basil in an interesting flavor I've not had before. I'll definitely do this recipe again. I think next time I'll use different mushrooms and frozen spinach (the chopping was time consuming) to make it an appetizer dish.

I'm gettin' out there!

2010-09-09T17:46:00.003-04:00

Hey you, my mom, my sister, my MIL, my SIL, whoever else I know and strangers that pop in here every now and then, I appreciate it sooooo much! Check THIS out! It's ME, quoted on Organic Size Me's blog about school lunches. Woopie!

Another way I'm gettin' out there is in teaching elementary schoolers again. I'm teaching two after school art classes through the Young Rembrandts program. It's JUST drawing which is really great because I LOVE drawing. It's the basis for all art. They get to color, too, and really learn how to color well. Can you believe I get high schoolers who do not know how to color or even to use the side of their marker? It's true. It's not their fault if they were never taught how to color. So, I get to do that for little ones and bring back some of the tips for my HS students.

Classes have been great! I'm much more comfortable and confident in front of the students now and I structure class time well. I can feel it flowing more easily. I had to talk in front of the whole HS today at a MICROPHONE! Yikes! I did alright, though. I got a "yow" from some student when I was called up. What's that about?

Life really is worth living after all

2010-09-05T22:18:00.005-04:00

I used to go to a play group when we lived in rural NC that was way out in the country where many people had produce farms, chickens, horses, cows, pigs, etc. A family I knew there now has a website for their farm where they raise chickens for eggs and to sell "chicken families" so others can have egg laying hens and a rooster if they want to continue their chicken family. The farm also has goats, sheep, ducks, and pigs. They sell lamb and goat meat. There's lots of information on the types of "meat" that can be gotten from goats such as "Cabrito [which] is meat from very young, milk fed goats between 4 and 8 weeks of age. The meat is tender, juicy and very lean and tasty at this age." So, that sounds anything but appetizing and just about made me tear up, which is the first time that has ever happened. Of course I find slaughtering of animals disgusting and awful, but at the same time I am aware that cultures in various locations around the world do not have the luxury of enough produce or grain to sustain them. And I grew up in a culture that finds meat extremely normal and "necessary." But, take Native Alaskans, for example, who follow the herd of deer for survival. I don't fault them this. I think the reason I came closest to tears in reading this website is that I've been to this farm. I saw the family's first "mama" goat and the goat's first twins. I know the location well. It's not some terrible factory farm somewhere far away. It's a family farm where kids (human kids as well as goat kids) "frolic" and play.
Then I kept reading and came across this paragraph:

"Goats are very intelligent animals. They really thrive on affection. They can easily be trained to do any number of things. Goats, especially little babies, are the epitome of cuteness. But, most of all, they are just a whole lot of fun! They have that spark that tells you that life really is worth living after all. If you have never seen a goat kid play and frolic in it's first year of life, you are definitely missing one of the best shows life has to offer!" (Italics my own emphasis)

Doesn't that sound like an argument AGAINST killing goats, especially "little babies?" I think so. It's the perfect example of the disconnect between caring for animals and "caring" for animals until you kill them or torture them by taking their lambs and young kids away and then milking them for your own use. AH! I'm one of those crazy vegan people! Only, I'm not. I'll not hang my head in shame, but it has been difficult for me to give up dairy in all forms and I recently desired and ate *eggs* and *salmon* and *crab* (though not together). Oh well, gotta move forward. I got the egg and fish craving out of my system and the crab was not as enjoyable as I'd hoped it would be, though the salmon cake was awesome. As for dairy, ice cream, half n half (away from home in coffee) and cheese are my weaknesses. I know vegans who just stop. If you want to stop, you stop, they say. But it's tough, okay? It is.

In my first 6 months after swearing off cow and pork, I had beef hamburger 3 times. Then I was good. I gave up poultry without EVER looking back. But fish has been a bit more difficult craving-wise and dairy is so prominent it's socially easier to keep eating it. Tonight's dinner was enjoyable, but had a fair amount of cheese.

Maybe I need a mantra. I know it's healthier to not consume dairy, but that knowledge is not enough to propel me to stop. I need to think about where it comes from, not just what it does to my digestive tract (and thighs). hmmm..... I'll have to think of a good mantra.

Yesterday's dinner was ho hum. I didn't have brown sugar or lime for the samosas so they weren't my best batch. BUT, I did make Dreena's cookies using cashew butter and they were the best. Check out her site for pics. Mine looked similar but I made them smaller to last longer. Still they were made in the afternoon and gone by bedtime. They were super easy to make though, so I'll whip up another batch (a double batch) sometime soon.

This goat picture came from this website which if you look through the "about" section and "showcase" section you might very well chuckle as I did.

Back in the swing

2010-09-02T17:16:00.003-04:00

We just wrapped up our first week back in school. Other than a quick meet and greet with my homeroom students Monday, I only taught two days of classes. Wednesday we actually got out of school early because of the heat, which was good because our school is not air conditioned except the library and cafeteria. I thought it was hot last spring, but it was nothing compared to now!

I'm off to a decent start. I have most of my classes pretty well planned out. I have a lot of new students (new to me, not necessarily new to the school). Some kids take multiple classes with me, but I'm still learning who those students are as I try to learn names.

The girls had a good week and are happy going and leaving school, but in the evening they get tired and cranky, especially G. She actually had homework two days, while S, has not had any. She does, however, still have summer homework to finish this weekend! Good thing we have four days off.

An old friend is visiting this weekend all the way from California. We are about out of food, so I'll need to plan a nice dinner for us before I go shopping tomorrow. If it's worth sharing, I will. I'm off to scan the vegan blogs for ideas!

On this first day of kindergarten

2010-08-30T20:54:00.004-04:00

My youngest started kindergarten today. She had a half day and is excited to have a full day tomorrow. She was very eager to get to school and was fine when I left her in the classroom. I, however, was not fine. After I walked out the classroom door I looked back and saw the back of her head in the middle of the room. She was not looking after me and it was apparent she was no longer just my baby, she was now someone's student. My eyes welled up with tears as I walked out of the building. I held it together because I had to focus on preparing for my own students. After a full day I came home exhausted and threw together the following for dinner:

Sweet potato samosas, recipe from You Won't Believe It's Vegan, however, I had only one sweet potato left, so I just eyeballed the ingredients rather than measuring. I freakin love curry! Stir-fry: tofu marinated according to Your Vegan Mom's "House Tofu," yellow squash, broccoli, portabello mushrooms. YUM. G had thirds of this dinner.
I'm off to a good start this school year with following through with good dinners. I even got all the dishes washed.

Lacking

2010-08-27T14:57:00.002-04:00

I'm super excited to start the new school year. My oldest has already had two half-days of school. The youngest starts kindergarten on Monday. She's excited, but also stressed. And of course, I'm stressed. The feeling of stress takes away my feeling of hunger. I just don't have interest or energy to put into food. Don't get me wrong, I eat. But it's not "fun" like it had been just a week ago. Work definitely keeps me busy and keeps my mind occupied even when I'm not there, so thinking about meals isn't a priority. I don't want it to fall to the wayside, though. I want the kids to have enjoyable lunches and dinners and stress-free breakfasts. That means I have to keep planning and get up in plenty of time in the morning to make breakfast happen. My goal is to keep meals planned and easy and to keep everyone as stress-free as possible in the busy school year. Just hope my own appetite comes back.

Food Blog Summer Edition 2010: Garlic Basil Pasta

2010-08-18T19:13:00.003-04:00

I've been having fun experimenting with different versions of mac 'n cheese. I like the recipe in 30 Minute Vegan that uses nutritional yeast and curry powder. I bought cheddar flavor Daiya vegan cheese, so used that to make my latest batch yesterday. I heated 1 1/2 cups of rice milk until it was steaming, then added 1/4 cup nutritional yeast and 2 tbsp of flour together. I whisked that in until the milk was bubbly and thick, then I added 1 cup of the Daiya cheese and stirred until melted. Prior to starting the cheese sauce I had pureed 1/2 cup of fresh basil and 3 cloves of garlic in the food processor. I added it to the cheese sauce and poured the sauce over the cooked whole wheat pasta shells. Here is the cheese sauce just before pouring. The mac n' cheese could have been eaten from the pot, but I put it in a baking dish and sprinkled bread crumbs on top and baked for 20 minutes. Half does not have bread crumbs because the kids don't like it.

The girls had theirs with a side of spinach salad. G could not stop raving about this dinner. She was so excited to try the newest version of mac n cheese with HER cheese. Any vegan cheese is her cheese. Only now big sister and I are having it too. G enjoyed her salad with Asian Miracle Dressing from Vegan Lunch Box. Every time she has it she explains that it's called miracle dressing because it's a miracle kids eat their salad. And it's true, she ate it all!

I enjoyed my bread crumb-topped pasta with a side of sweetened stewed tomatoes. YUM! I discovered I liked this combination when I had my first child. The first meal I ate in the hospital was mac n' cheese and stewed tomatoes. I was famished and didn't hesitate to eat everything on my plate. It was delicious! My midwife was still there and commented on how she could see I was a real Marylander by my liking the stewed tomatoes. I told her it was the first time I'd had it, but I loved it. I thicken them with cornstarch mixed with a little water and add a little brown sugar. So, so good. I don't like to add it on top of the mac n' cheese, but I eat some with every bite of it.

I went to Moms Organic Market recently and bought three heirloom tomatoes. I'd read about heirloom vegetables in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and took the opportunity to try some. Here is my last one on my favorite "palette plate" a friend gave me a couple years ago. I use it for the produce I leave out of the fridge.

Today I ate two tomato sandwiches with mayo (not vegan), Dijon mustard, organic romaine lettuce and fresh basil. SO good. Then I had the last tomato a couple hours later with left-over mac n' cheese.

Fresh Basil

2010-08-17T16:16:00.003-04:00

I have fresh basil from my mom and some from my own plant. I'm going to try to make a cheesy, garlic, basil casserole and have stewed tomatoes on the side. I'll let you know if it was successful!

Great conversation

2010-08-16T21:31:00.000-04:00

There is a great conversation going over at Eat, Drink and Be Vegan. The post about the freedom of being vegan is exactly what I was trying to convey a few days ago to the teachers. Being vegan is freeing in there not being sanitation worries as there are with meat and eggs. It's also freeing in that it forces you to think outside the box and explore new foods. I had never heard of Nutritional Yeast or Egg Replacer before I needed to "substitute." Being vegan doesn't only omit animal products, it greatly adds a variety of foods.

BTW, I've been vegan the past two weeks until tonight. I went to a social function and had conventional desserts. :( BUT they had brownies and my favorite: homemade TASTY CAKES! YUM! That's really my downfall: social situations. When I go to a BBQ, I have the coleslaw made with mayo. I have the desserts. Oh well.... still on the journey.

Food Blog Summer 2010 Edition

2010-08-15T11:34:00.006-04:00

This post includes my very first published self-designed recipe!

Here we go! Good eats this August:

Meal #1
I recently had my best trip to the grocery store with the kids. I gave them both items they were in charge of getting, so they were occupied and excited to shop. It worked very well because they didn't fool around and get on each other's nerves. G (5 years old) got the produce bags and started gathering. She saw these bright green chayote from Ecuador. She probably thought they were pears, so I pointed out they were a vegetable. The sign said they were similar to zucchini. We got two. I chopped them, sauteed them with salt, pepper and garlic powder. They remained crisp. I put them in a bowl and added lemon juice, chopped cilantro and chopped avocado and served it warm. We ate it the next day cold, which I prefered, with salad.

Here is the chayote with vegan mac n cheese from 30 Minute Vegan and a baked sweet potato. Not sure where these potatoes are from as I bought them at Giant, but they were naturally sweet and very delicious with a little vegan butter mashed in. YUM!

Meal #2

Here is a dinner that took very little time to prepare and got me much praise from the kids.
I put the left over mac n cheese in a pot with a jar of tomato sauce. I added half a bag of Trader Joe's Meatless Meatballs (REALLY GOOD!) and heated for about 20 minutes. I toasted bread, added butter and garlic powder for a quick garlic bread and also included a spinach salad.

Meal #3

Falafel! My sister gave me a great falafel recipe. Since I still had cilantro left I decided to make them, only I didn't have chickpeas. So I used cannelini beans. Simply drain and rinse the beans and put them in the food processor (I have a mini size) with 1/4 cup bread crumbs (I used Trader Joe's Panko Bread Crumbs), 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 2 chopped garlic cloves, 1 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp ground red pepper, and Egg Replacer equivalent of 2 eggs. Blend, shape into patties and saute in olive oil until browned on each side. The cannileni beans were stickier than the chickpeas, so I added more bread crumbs.

Meanwhile, I had this yummy soup simmering on the stove: ACORN SQUASH SOUP!

Here are the falafel coated in bread crumbs before sauteing. I made 8 about 2 inches in diameter.

Here is the delicious soup garnished with cilantro:

I gave the kids their falafel on a bed of spinach.

I ate mine wrapped in romaine leaves with a slice of tomato (not pictured):

Here is my soup recipe MADE BY ME! Yes, I've finally become proficient enough in the kitchen to design my own recipe! I've sort of made my own recipies before and I certainly throw together things, but I was so confident in this recipe I wrote it down before I made it and it turned out wonderfully.

2 Acorn squash peeled and chopped (You could halve them and bake them in the oven and add the cooked flesh to the pot, but this is how I did it. I hate handling the hot squash.)

3 carrots peeled and chopped

1 onion chopped

4 cloves of garlic minced

2 apples chopped

2 tsp cumin

salt/pepper to taste

In a large sauce pan, warm 2 tbsp olive oil and saute garlic, onion, carrot, squash and apple until vegetables are starting to brown. Add vegetable broth or water enough to cover vegetables. Cover. Bring to a boil. Lower temperature and allow to simmer stirring occasionally for 20 minutes. Uncover. Add salt, pepper and cumin and simmer uncovered 20+ minutes until all vegetables are cooked. Puree (I used my nifty immersion blender) and serve. Don't forget to garnish with cilantro! It's very refreshing!

Favorite Kid Shows

2010-08-13T06:19:00.001-04:00

When I was a kid I watched:
1. Sesame Street
2. Pinwheel
3. Today's Special
4. Popples
5. Kids Incorporated
6. The Smurfs
7. The Littles
8. The Snorks
9. The Noozles--I can never find anyone who remembers this show except my sister who watched it with me.
10. Rainbow Bright
11. David the Gnome
12. Hey Dude
14. Full House

13. Family Matters

14. Small Wonder

15. Pound Puppies

16. Belle and Sebastian

17. The Little Prince

18. My Little Pony

19. Shirt Tales--Since I just found the name of this show recently, in describing to people a bunch of little animals who live in a big tree, no one knew what I was talking about.

20. Fraggle Rock

21. Maple Town--I have a bunch of these little toys (all animals) and my girls love to play with them now.

22. Fluppy Dogs--Another show I couldn't remember the title of.

And then there's this obscure TV Special: The Hugga Bunch. There are clips on You Tube. WTF! I was three years old, but I've remembered the plot very well because it had a huge impact on me. It was the start of my "getting into movies." I see it in S, as well. We become very enthralled, physically reacting to the movie. At the end of the Hugga Bunch I sobbed uncontrollably. I remember standing in the doorway to the TV room off the kitchen with my parents on either side of me begging me to tell them what was wrong. My dad said, "You won't be allowed to watch movies like this anymore if you don't tell us." haha! Of course, in my memory the girl seemed older. She's so well spoken, though only about 6 or 7 years old. To a 3 year old that's a big kid! I watched the ending on You Tube and it's completely cheesy. Maybe I never did watch the ending because I started crying before seeing the "happily ever after" conclusion. I wonder...

If you want to find shows you remember (not all kids show, either) check out: Retrojunk.com

Organic MUST Buys

2010-08-12T11:11:00.004-04:00

This list is on the latest post from Crazy Sexy Life:
I don't have a Whole Foods or other organic/natural food store nearby, so I predominantly shop at Giant. When I go to my parents I try to stop by Mom's Organic Market which is near their house. However, I don't usually buy produce there, but I get my vegan items. After looking at these lists, I should start getting produce elsewhere. Giant usually has about 10 items in the produce department that are organic and these are the ones I get.

When you MUST buy organic:
1. celery I usually buy conventional as I have not seen it organic at Giant.
2. peaches Conventional :(
3. strawberries Conventional :(
4. apples Organic apples are always in stock at Giant and I keep them in the house. I buy organic apple sauce from Mom's.
5. domestic blueberries I buy these frozen (they say "wild blueberries"). They are conventional.
6. nectarines Conventional :(
7. sweet bell peppers Conventional :( We eat these a lot.
8. spinach, kale and collard greens I always buy organic spinach whether frozen or fresh. Giant has not had organic kale.
9. cherries I don't buy them. I don't like them.
10. potatoes Conventional
11. imported grapes Conventional
12. lettuce Giant carries organic bagged lettuce and often has organic large leaf lettuces, so I get those.

When you can skip it:
1. onions Too bad I didn't know this! I just bought a bag of organic onions at Giant. Oh well!
2. avocados I figured these were OK conventional, so this is good to know.
3. sweet corn
4. pineapples
5. mangoes
6. sweet peas
7. asparagus This is a relief 'cause we love it!
8. kiwi fruit good!
9. cabbage
10. eggplant
11. cantaloupe I figured melons were safe because of their thick skins.
12. watermelon
13. grapefruit Love this too!
14. sweet potatoes Why are these safe, but other potatoes are not? Oh well, I buy these more often than potatoes.
15. sweet onions

Next March we'll have to see where we are financially. I would LOVE to invest in a local organic CSA. But, we could also plant our own pepper and tomato plants. It's the greens from the CSA that are worth the investment. In fact, I can see a freezer stocked with frozen green juice if that happens! YUM!

My first Vegeducation Experience

2010-08-12T10:26:00.003-04:00

I've discussed my diet with coworkers, friends, family. But today, I shared information with strangers. My youngest had a speech therapy evaluation today which involved a full IEP meeting. The school psychologist, nurse, speech pathologist and special ed teacher were present. I had filled out a health history form on G in which it asked about the family diet. I wrote that the family is vegetarian, but G is vegan because of her food intolerance, which I explained in detail. The nurse verified some information and stated that G eats vegan. After that I got the following questions: "Does everyone eat vegan? What's the difference between vegan and vegetarian? How do you know what to cook? Can you recommend some cookbooks?"

Isn't that awesome? I explained that the kids are free to eat meat away from home if they choose, but at home I cook mostly vegan. I recommended 30 Minute Vegan and You Won't Believe It's Vegan as two books I use regularly. I said that changing to vegetarian really freed me and I enjoy cooking so much more now. So, some people got some new information from me today.

As a clarification, if you're interested: I am vegetarian at home and away from home. I do not eat any meat or seafood. I eat egg and dairy on occasion, but am moving toward veganism. I do not purchase eggs or dairy (except pizza), but for family get-togethers it's easier to allow them to make things with these. S is basically the same way (at home). Occasionally she'll have cheese. G, as you know, eats no dairy or egg, so is vegan (at home). Will, who increased his vegetable and fruit intake with green juices and smoothies a while ago had never cut out meat. However, since we've moved to our own house, he has greatly cut down on it and is opting for fish instead of other meat. That makes me so happy!

Broccoli Rabe Fail

2010-08-09T17:08:00.005-04:00

My mom made some good broccoli rabe a while back. It was delicious and a little sweet. Maybe she added sugar, I'll have to ask her. I bought two big bundles of Andy Boy broccoli rabe expecting the same results. It smelled delicious, but when we tasted it... YUCK! We spit it out. Seriously, I couldn't even force myself to eat it, so there was no way the kids could be expected to. What did I do wrong? I tasted some raw leaves that had fallen to the wayside when I cut it. They were very bitter. I had sauteed it in olive oil with garlic, salt, pepper and lemon juice. That's how I do kale, so I thought it'd work great for broccoli rabe too. Not the case! According to eHow, I should have boiled it briefly, then put it in ice water, THEN sauteed in olive oil. Other sites recommend adding some kind of sweetener at various points in the cooking. Well, sugar is out. Dinner is dinner, not dessert. I could use agave, though. I also found out through my internet search that the bigger the broccoli rabe, the more bitter it is. So much for my big beautiful bundles!

Disclaimer: Photo from google image search.

Getting my classroom ready

2010-08-07T17:49:00.003-04:00

Will came to school with me today to help move furniture around in my classroom. We did a lot of work rearranging shelving, clearing out trash and recycling materials and removing furniture I don't need. The room just had too much in it. I'm getting rid of two desks, a shelf and a metal cabinet. There was a mountain of trash and recycling in the hallway when we finished and the room has ROOM. I am so glad to be rearranging the room and I'm thinking of the best way to make it functional. The problem last year was there wasn't a proper place for everything and the students and I were overwhelmed with where to put things, so it just stayed cluttered and messy. This year, I'm organizing and labeling drawers and shelves so materials will be easily (I hope!) returned to their correct homes. I also hope clearing out the junk for more space will keep materials from being misused and left covered in paint or glue. When it looks like there's junk everywhere students don't respect things. Plus, I cannot work in a messy environment! It was very frustrating last year. I may be artsy fartsy in some respects, but I like a neat and tidy classroom. I love my husband so much and I greatly appreciate his help.

Goal

2010-08-04T20:38:00.002-04:00

I'm not doing very well here! I just love the coffee. :(

Goal: Break the Coffee Addiction

2010-08-02T22:21:00.004-04:00

Coffee is so good. I just spent a week away from home and enjoyed some delicious coffee--better than I usually have at home. The problem with my drinking coffee is I have to put 2 tsp of sugar and if I'm somewhere where there is half 'n half I can't resist it! Dairy, sugar AND caffeine! I have to stop abusing my body with this stuff. The good thing is I like tea and I can use green tea to keep from having caffeine withdrawal and then slowly change to caffeine-free teas. Green juice in the morning also helps because it provides such great energy and hydration. I want to do what I can to have a happy and healthy winter this year. While I managed to not have any colds this past winter, my seasonal affective disorder was the worst it's been in years. Cold juice may not be something I crave, but it will keep me energized and feeling good.

Plan: Tuesday 8/3/10: Green tea (1-2 cups as needed) with agave.

Wednesday 8/4/10: Green JUICE and green tea; continue with this for a few days and try to just go with the green juice and no tea.

How to Take a Bite Out of Crime (with your vagina)

2010-07-25T21:50:00.007-04:00

This has been around for a while, but it's the first I'm hearing of it. It's an anti-rape device worn in a woman's vagina. It's inserted and removed by an applicator because it clamps down with sharp TEETH on anything inserted into the vagina. It can only be removed from the skin by surgery! Yikes. It was invented by a South American man who thought it was "high-time" someone helped a woman stop rape. Well, it doesn't exactly stop it from starting, but it stops it from continuing. My first thought was this sort of thing would really piss a guy off. One article suggested vindictive ex-girlfriends or wives might use it. If they are presently being raped by their significant others they have a legitimate reason. However, critics are worried it would cause more damage if the man is angry and hurts the woman more, something I think would happen, especially with spousal abuse in the form of rape. Wife beating and raping sometimes go hand in hand already. For someone in that position I would not want them to use this device. Other critics are angry that the responsibility to prevent rape is being put on the woman and suggests putting shock devices on men instead. I don't think McGruff had any of this in mind when he said his memorable slogan.